Fine Gael Express 'Dismay' At Government's Negotiations

A Fine Gael TD has expressed 'dismay' at the negotiating tactics of the Fianna Fáil Government at the World Trade Organisation talks.

Spokesman for Agriculture, Fisheries & Food Deputy, Michael Creed, said the Government's reluctance to form an alliance with like-minded farming countries until the eleventh hour was part of a disastrous performance on WTO to date.

"The Fianna Fáil Government's handling of the WTO talks has been a disaster. The Government failed to form strategic alliances with other farming countries until their recent Pauline conversion at the eleventh hour in the latest round of talks."

Minister Creed also said the Taoiseach's assurance of the possibility of a veto on any WTO decision has "evaporated", in contrast to the French President Nikolas sarkozy's 'aggressive defending' of the interests of French farmers.

The Minister said: "I don't want to hear any more claptrap on balanced deals while we still have no commitment on where the Government stands on the veto.

"The Agriculture Minister must come clean on this and the full details of the current proposals to assure us that Irish farming is not being sold-out behind closed doors in Geneva.

Their refusal to attend a meeting of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee to explain their position only confirms the suspicion that allowing a sell-out is exactly what they're doing."

On Tuesday, farmers gathered at Government Buildings in Dublin to voice their opposition to the proposed deal on beef at the talks.

Irish Farmers claimed EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson sold-out European agriculture and insisted that both Irish livestock farmers and consumers have a lot to lose if the deal goes through.

(DW)