Minister expresses disappointment at collapse of trade talks

The Minister for Trade, Michael Ahern, expressed his disappointment at the sudden collapse of the World Trade Organisation talks in Cancun, Mexico.

Ahern, speaking from Cancun, said: "I am of course disappointed at the failure to reach agreement. The issues on our agenda over the past few days are important ones, not just for Ireland but for the rest of the world, including in particular the developing countries.

"Ireland worked hard within the European Union to make progress on all of the matters under discussion and the outcome does not reflect the effort we put in to secure agreement."

He said that efforts must now be redoubled to resolve the difficulties and the next few weeks and months would see officials working in Geneva to achieve that aim.

The Minister for Agriculture Joe Walsh, and the Minister for Development, Tom Kitt, accompanied Ahern to the talks in Cancun.