This article is from page 42 of the 2008-07-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 42 JPG
CLARE TD, Joe Carey (FG), last week questioned the status of the F1- anna Fail Government’s pre-Lisbon Treaty Referendum commitment to using Ireland’s veto in the case of WTO proposals that would sell out Irish farming.
“The WTO talks are entering a critical phase and recent days have seen EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson express optimism about a deal. While the Commissioner said yesterday that Europe can’t and won’t accept a deal it cannot defend at home, this will not inspire confi- dence in farmers who are well aware of Mandelson’s long-time stance,’ he
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“Meanwhile, the Minister for Agri- culture has been complaining about the proposals but is failing to put his money where his mouth 1s. If the Minister is as concerned and worried as he says he is about the latest WTO negotiating document on agriculture, then he must unequivocally state that the deal on the table is unacceptable and will be vetoed.
“That was the commitment given by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen in the dying days of the Lisbon Treaty cam- paign and Minister Brendan Smith must confirm it is what he is prepar- ing to do.”
Meanwhile, speaking from Geneva last Thursday, the Tanaiste and Min-
ister for Enterprise, Trade and Em- ployment, Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith and the Minister for Trade and Commerce, John McGuin- ness, called for a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced outcome to the current negotiations.
The Ministers confirmed that they have been engaged in robust nego- tiations with key players defending and promoting Irish interests in what are proving to be very difficult trade rec
All three Ministers have been at- tending daily meetings of the EU General Affairs Council (GAERC) as well as a series of bilateral meet- ings with other countries, including
the French EU Presidency, and the EU Commission.
On a joint statement the Ministers said that the had “very real concerns on Agriculture while working for positive outcomes on manutfactur- ing industry and services which will deliver opportunities for Irish manu- facturing and services companies through better access to world mar- kets and in so doing will secure Irish jobs for years to come.”
Speaking earlier in the week Min- ister Smith said that the WTO ne- gotiations in Geneva were very ac- tive, with a large number of intense meetings and informal contacts, but that there was no guarantee as to the outcome.