2026-05-19

I believe I speak for many across Ireland when I say how welcome the European Commission's decision to ban Brazilian beef and other food products is. This is a welcome step. It vindicates the serious concerns we in Sinn Féin have raised along with countless others like the IFA, the Irish Farmers' Journal, the ICMSA, the ICSA and many more regarding public health risks posed by Brazilian beef. However, it is deeply disappointing that when I and other Members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food raised these concerns directly with the Commission, we were flatly ignored. When I raised with the Minister the shocking low levels of testing at 1.7% on Brazilian beef coming into Ireland, my concerns over inadequate testing were dismissed. Let me be clear. If a farm in Kilkenny were found to be using banned antibiotics in its herd, the entire herd would be sealed off and put down due to the risk to public health. However, when Brazilian farms are clearly shown to be using banned drugs they are allowed to continue business as usual for another three months. How is this double standard acceptable? Antimicrobial resistance is projected to directly cause over 1.2 million deaths in 2026, with studies suggesting it contributes to nearly 5 million deaths annually. AMR infections are increasing by up to 15% yearly. The World Health Organization, WHO, classifies antimicrobial resistance as one of the top global public health threats. How can the Minister of State and the Government stand over the sale of Brazilian beef for three more months knowing it poses a risk to public health?

It is welcome that the Commission has decided it wants to ban Brazilian beef and other food products coming into Europe in spite of the Mercosur trade agreement. It has come to this late in the day. Many of us have been calling out Mercosur and the situation we have with the trade agreement for decades. Deputy Carthy, as an MEP, led the charge in the European Union. At one stage Phil Hogan accepted that they hoped to see foodstuffs taken off the table with regard to the Mercosur trade agreement because of concerns about Brazilian beef. However, it was not taken off. In 2019 we had a motion in the Dáil, one of the few motions the Opposition got through before the most recent election, and all of the Dáil supported ensuring we would mandate the Government to stand firm and put pressure on to ensure the Mercosur trade agreement did not go through because of the concerns outlined with regard to Brazilian beef in particular, but other food products from Brazil as well because of the very low standards. We also had a motion this year about this and there was a battle between farmers, consumers and environmentalists across Europe to ensure people in the European Commission would sit up and listen to the realities on the ground with regard to Brazilian beef and other food products coming from Brazil. We are now at a situation where they have recognised the reality so many of us have been pointing out for so long. They say they will ban this product coming into Europe. However, they are not going to do it for another three months. It makes no sense whatsoever. We want an assurance from Government that it will put maximum pressure on the Commission to ensure any ban going to happen with regard to Brazilian beef happens now, and they do not wait any longer for it. If this food product is dangerous, as has been proven, and is not meeting European standards it should not be given a three-month reprieve before we ensure it stops coming into the European Union. We have to stand firm and ensure consumers are protected and that the farming community meets the same standards everywhere for food coming into anywhere in Europe but particularly in Ireland.

I thank both Deputies for raising this issue, and I share their concerns with regards to antimicrobial medicinal products being used and the impact that would have. Deputy Newsome Drennan highlighted well the potential health impacts in that regard. As Minister of State with responsibility for nature, I know the level of deforestation in Brazil. The production of beef is the biggest cause of deforestation in Brazil. That is something that does not sit well with me. That is just to add my personal view. On 12 May, the standing committee on plants, animals, food and feed voted in favour of a draft Commission implementing regulation amending implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/405 as regards the restrictions of the prohibition on the use of certain antimicrobial medicinal products and repealing implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2598. The annex of the draft implementing the regulation includes an updated list of countries that have demonstrated compliance with EU restrictions on the use of antimicrobials in animals. Under EU rules, such substances cannot be used to promote growth or increase production in livestock and other food-producing animals. Brazil has been excluded from the list, meaning that it can no longer export to the EU commodities such as bovine, equine, poultry, eggs, aquaculture, honey and casings, with effect from 3 September 2026. This includes both food producing live animals and derived products. This is a clear example of the importance of maintaining the EU's sanitary and phytosanitary standards. The Government will continue to advocate for the strict monitoring of imports in order to reflect the concerns of our farmers and consumers. The Deputies also referenced the EU-Mercosur trade deal. As Government, we have raised concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur agreement over a number of years, particularly its potential impact on the beef sector, the strength of its climate and sustainability commitments and the food safety and environmental standards enforced by Mercosur countries. Our focus is on ensuring rigorous monitoring by the Commission of the agreement’s market impacts and the robust enforcement by the Commission, where necessary, of the provisions of the recently agreed safeguards regulation. The Government will also continue to engage closely with the Commission to ensure that it follows through on its additional commitments. This includes those in relation to food safety and environmental standards, as well as its stated intention to better align the production standards of imported products with EU production standards particularly with regard to pesticides and animal welfare. All of this work is crucial to fully addressing the concerns of our farmers and our consumers.

I understand the Commission has said the three month delay is to give Brazilian farmers an opportunity to get their house in order. I do not know if the Minister saw the joint report by the IFA and the Irish Farmers' Journal on how brazen and widespread drugs are in Brazilian beef farming. For someone like me from a farming background it is shocking. How the Commission could think the use of banned drugs could be brought under control in a matter of months is beyond me. Once these drugs have been injected into a herd that is it. They are not simply going to fade out of the animals' system. The damage is done and let us not forget that there is no proper tagging or traceability of the herds. I hope we do not see the Commission trying to row back on this decision. It has taken Irish and EU farming decades to reach the standards we have today. Three months will not cut it for Brazil.

We appreciate that there has been some progress made but we still have a situation where there is no traceability whatsoever with animals, particularly in Brazil. When a calf is born in Ireland it has to be tagged almost immediately. There have to be full checks and records of any medicine or antibiotics it receives. Everything has to be written down and accounted for. They have to meet all the standards. In fact, even the foodstuffs have to be recorded. A farmer told me recently that more records are kept on your calf than on your child in this country to ensure their safety. We recognise that European farmers are meeting a high standard. The farms in Brazil do not meet those standards. Tagging is practically unknown and in some cases, if one of the small number of animals that are tagged dies, the tag is removed from its ear and put on another's. That is the way the system works. It is a complete wild west, as far as anyone can see. To suggest that somehow or other Brazilian farmers are going to meet the standard in the short term is ridiculous. It is not going to happen. I ask again that the Government commit that the date in September is brought forward and that we ban this substance now.

I come from a farming background and I know all about it. The Deputies mentioned the paperwork, the bureaucracy and the headaches those give. Farmers just want to farm. They want to get on with doing what they are good at instead of filling out forms, but it means they reach incredibly high standards and that is why our produce is famous worldwide. I commend the investigative work of the IFA and the Irish Farmers Journal because there is no doubt it was one of the highlighting factors that really brought this to attention and put it to the fore in terms of highlighting the issue in Brazil. They must be commended on that. I get the Deputies' anxiety and call for urgency in bringing the date forward. I cannot, obviously, give any guarantee the date of 3 September will be brought forward but as I said in the initial response, all pressure will be put on by the Department and the Minister to ensure that is upheld and the best standards are upheld. It is really up to Brazil to sort out its own affairs.

That is not going to happen.

I do not expect that will happen. That is just my own feeling on it. I agree with the Deputies we need to keep our standards high. If there is any hint of a possibility that people's health will be impacted, as outlined by Deputy Newsome Drennan, then that is something we cannot stand for. Getting back to my original point about the deforestation rates, it just does not sit well with me and that is something I am proud of here in Ireland in terms of our produce.