Letter addressing withdrawing support for nature restoration plan

DEAR EDITOR

After careful consideration, I have decided that if the EU pushes ahead with the Mercosur deal, I will withdraw my tentative support for Ireland’s nature restoration plan.

I will not ask farmers to sign up to major environmental undertakings while the European Union pursues a trade deal that completely undermines the very principles it claims to promote.

Over the past year, I have engaged in the leaders’ forums on nature restoration as Ireland prepares its full plan for submission to the European Commission next September.

I participated in good faith and gave cautious support, despite having serious reservations about how it would be funded, given that farmers would inevitably be expected to do most of the heavy lifting.

How can I ask farmers to rewet land, restore habitats or alter their systems while Brussels continues to turn a blind eye to ongoing environmental terrorism in Brazil and other Mercosur countries?

The recent Irish Farmers Journal investigation exposing the flagrant abuse of antibiotics and hormones in Brazilian beef only reinforces the hypocrisy of this deal.

These practices would be illegal here, yet Brussels appears willing to wave them through.

Even for those who don’t care about the impact on farm incomes, surely the risks to public health and the environment should set alarm bells ringing.

The Commission demanding the highest standards from Irish farmers while ignoring deforestation and production systems that breach even basic food safety rules is blatant double standards.

With nature restoration plan talks set to ramp up next year, how could I, in good conscience, encourage farmers to engage while their concerns about Mercosur are repeatedly ignored?

Trust cannot survive a betrayal on this scale. The Mercosur deal must be scrapped if anyone in Ireland or Brussels expects farmers to engage on nature restoration.