The EU-Mercosur agreement and its potential impact on Kerry farming provided for the most charged discussion at last Tuesday's online Kerry IFA AGM, at which Tánaiste Leo Varadkar was a guest speaker. Mr Cullinan called on the Tánaiste to raise the matter immediately in Brussels and expressed concern at positive soundings on Mercosur coming from Europe. So if we suddenly turned into being anti free trade or only for free trade when it suited us, that could do us more harm in the longer run. The Tánaiste said Ireland stood to gain little from the deal and acknowledged the huge loss it could represent to Irish agriculture. The Tánaiste outlined at the outset that he is not an expert on farming matters but described his family's farming background in County Waterford.

Source: Irish Independent March 03, 2021 07:07 UTC