I ask the Taoiseach to please continue to support our farmers. I am a rural TD and, together with my local public representatives, like Councillor Tommy Kinsella in Ballinkillen, we have been hearing over and over again about the devastating impact that the Mercosur deal, in its current format, will have on farmers, farm families and rural communities. I stand together with my Fine Gael colleagues in Carlow and Kilkenny in strong opposition to the deal.

I am asking the Taoiseach on their behalf to follow through on the commitment in the programme for Government, not only to oppose Mercosur but also to put a pause on the inclusion of beef and poultry as part of the trade deal until European standards are met. As we have seen from evidence across Europe, hormone-filled beef from Brazil has made its way into the food chain in Europe, highlighting that Mercosur in its current format is not just a matter of concern for farmers but poses a huge threat to public health for all of us.

As I said earlier in response to Deputy Lowry, the Government has been working with the Commission on the nitrates derogation. The Commission, including the President of the Commission, has been extremely constructive on that. We have also been working with like-minded countries in terms of Mercosur. About 200,000 tonnes from Mercosur countries already comes into the European Union. There is no question that the original deal has been changed in some respects in terms of the legal instruments that the Commission has now introduced in respect of safeguards, including stronger sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, checks. It was SPS checks that revealed the unacceptable discoveries in terms of hormone-infected beef across Europe. It is a significant issue in terms of the different standards, approaches and so forth. We also had the multi-annual financial framework to negotiate with the Commission, which will be quite serious if we do not get improvements for farming.