Tánaiste Simon Harris has come under fire from Sinn Féin, which has accused him of “extraordinary double-speak” in outlining what way the Government intends on voting on Mercosur.

While stating that Ireland’s position on the proposed EU-Mercosur free trade agreement has not changed since the Government was formed, the Tánaiste stopped short of saying that Ireland will vote to reject the deal when he spoke in Dáil Éireann on Thursday.

“The position of the Government remains the same and as outlined in the Programme for Government in terms of our concerns regarding the Mercosur deal,” Harris responded to a question put by Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty.

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“A lot of significant work is being undertaken, in particular by the Minister for Agriculture and other Government colleagues, to engage with other like-minded countries or those which have similar concerns about the Mercosur deal to ascertain whether the blocking minority remains in place.”

Harris went on to state that the Government “still has concerns about the Mercosur deal, despite some of the protocols that have been announced” and that is still engaging with “those like-minded countries”.

Sinn Féin concerns

However, the remarks failed to clarify whether a no vote is still the Government’s plan of action, according to Deputy Doherty.

“Irish farmers are being told one thing by the Government and hearing something very different from other senior Fine Gael figures. That contradiction is now impossible to ignore,” the TD said.

Speaking after his Dáil question, the Sinn Féin finance spokesperson claimed that his party’s concerns on the Government’s position on Mercosur has been compounded by recent claims from Dublin Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty.

“The alarm caused by the recall [of hormone-containing Brazilian beef] was compounded this week by remarks from Fine Gael MEP Regina Doherty, who publicly described Mercosur as ‘potentially a very good deal for Ireland’ and said it offered ‘really great opportunities, including for our farmers’.”

Sinn Féin’s agriculture spokesperson Martin Kenny TD branded the stance taken by Deputy Harris as “completely unacceptable”, as he accused the Government of dishonesty on its Mercosur voting plans.

“There are not going to be any changes to the deal in the next two weeks. Negotiations of the deal are finished. It is quite simple: you are either for or against the deal.”

Deputy Kenny has also urged Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon to attend a special meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday that is to hear from Irish Farmers Journal acting co-editor Adam Woods on his recent exposé of Brazilian beef farming standards.

“It would be worthwhile for those Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs who are undecided or are supporting the Mercosur trade agreement to also attend this meeting and watch it online,” the Sligo-Leitrim TD added.

“Lowry’s Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government need to listen to the concerns of the Irish people and to their own back bench TDs that the Mercosur deal must be stopped.”