AS THE agriculture sector continues to apply pressure on the Government over the World Trade Talks, the Minister for Agriculture, Mary Coughlan, will meet the EU Commissioner for Trade, Peter Mandelson, in Brussels tomorrow.
She said she would be using the occasion to outline her dissatisfaction with the current direction of the talks on WTO and the serious difficulties that could emerge for Irish agriculture.
Last week, Ms Coughlan met representatives from the food processors, the co-operative movement and the farm organisations to discuss the issues involved.
The sector claims that a deal based on the concessions being offered by Mr Mandelson will lead to the loss of 50,000 jobs on farms and a further 50,000 in food processing and farm services.
They say the offer to cut EU supports on agricultural exports by 70 per cent will wipe out the sector and lead to a €2 billion loss in exports to Ireland and an overall loss of €4 billion to the economy.
The Irish Farmers’ Association, which has said it cannot urge its members to vote Yes in the forthcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum if a bad deal is struck in WTO, has continued its pressure over the weekend with heavy advertising in the media on the impact of such a deal.
It published a map of Ireland giving a county-by-county impact on the dairy, beef, lamb, grain, poultry and pigmeat plants in the State.
Co Cork, according to the IFA survey, stood to lose most, €368 million, with losses in Co Galway of €134 million, Kerry €130 million , Meath €110 million and Donegal, €75 million.
The map also suggests that Northern Ireland would stand to lose €500 million if the deal being offered by Mr Mandelson goes through.
In a related development, the Fine Gael leader, Enda Kenny, announced he has called a special meeting of the European People’s Party working group on agriculture and food security in Brussels on May 15th next.
Mr Kenny is the chairman of this working group, which held meetings with the leaders of the Irish farming organisations in Dublin earlier this month where he promised to get the group together in advance of the planned WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva on May 19th.