Anyone who thinks the blatantly self-serving move by Ireland to vote against the Mercosur deal will damage our standing in the European Union has a naive understanding of how the bloc works. It only requires 55 per cent of member states (representing at least 65 per cent of the EU population) to get a deal like Mercosur through. Irish Times Motoring Editor Michael McAleer gives his take on the trends hitting Irish roads in 2026.Produced by John Casey with JJ Vernon on sound. So the Government will be voting no.”But no amount of safeguards were going to assuage the atavistic fears of Irish farmers. The true hypocrisy of the Mercosur vote is that the No vote was supposed to demonstrate that the Government still listens to the farming lobby.

Source: The Irish Times January 14, 2026 14:31 UTC