Martin Mansergh has long been considered one of the few intellectuals of Irish politics, a man capable of seeing the bigger picture, but last week he provided evidence that even the smartest practitioners in his trade never forget that all politics is local - and most definitely not global.

The Tipperary South TD reacted to the news of the World Trade Organisation's failure to agree on a new global trade deal in Geneva by issuing a celebratory statement. This was a brilliant victory for Irish farmers, Mansergh declared, as no deal meant existing protections would not be dismantled.

Pointedly, given that he would have known Peter Mandelson from his time as British secretary for Northern Ireland, Mansergh declared that never again would the EU allow its commissioner to push a "personal agenda" that could lead to the destruction of the common agricultural policy.

Mansergh, the TD, is also a gentleman farmer and has spoken previously of the enjoyment he takes from working on his land at weekends. This must appeal to voters in his constituency who farm full-time or part-time. Much more pertinent is Mansergh's full-time job, the one where he is paid to represent all the people of this state.

As a junior minister in the Department of Finance (albeit with responsibility for the Office of Public Works), Mansergh should be better informed than he appears to be. Instead of celebrating the protection of the narrow interests of farmers, Mansergh should be to the fore in bemoaning the missed opportunities for Irish non-food exporters resulting from the Geneva failure.

Based on previous experience, it is fair to say that the benefits accruing to non-food exporters would have more than compensated for whatever losses farmers might have suffered under a new world trade deal.

Given the noise created by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the access it enjoys to both politicians and media, a stranger would probably assume that farming is the country's most important industry. The reality is different. In modern Ireland the non-agricultural export sector dwarfs what's left of our traded farming output. We export about 85% of what we produce across all sectors. Services account for 43% of our exports, making us the tenth-largest exporter of services internationally. Our agricultural exports account for a mere 3% of our export trade.

This country's success in developing the export of services has been stunning. This small country of little more than 4m people provides modern and high-value services such as information and communications technology, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, financial services and medical technologies to countries around the globe.

For example, the internationally traded areas of financial, computer and other business services contribute over 296,000 jobs and ¤50 billion worth of exports to the Irish economy. Only about 5% of the Irish workforce - 109,000 people - depend on agriculture for their living and many of those have second jobs, ironically often in export-dependent services and manufacturing.

We have been a major beneficiary of previous trade deals. It has been estimated that the Uruguay round of the WTO negotiations completed 14 years ago led to a tenfold increase in our services exports while our manufactured exports increased by 250%.

The free trade that is facilitated, protected and enhanced by WTO deals has allowed Ireland to seize the opportunity to export to countries that do not impose high tariffs to protect local businesses and which are more than willing to give us their money in return.

Yet here we are celebrating the failure of the latest round of trade talks at a time of rising unemployment and reduced demand from some of our main export markets.

The government, naturally, is speaking out of both sides of its mouth on this issue. It has expressed disappointment at not securing additional opportunities for our exporters but continues to preface its statements by claiming relief at - and credit for - the preservation of the status quo in agriculture. This is extraordinarily short-sighted.

The EU is the world's biggest exporter. It accounts for 43% of world trade and Ireland is a part of that story. But it needs to increase that figure to compensate for slower domestic demand. While services exporters have not been as badly hit as the manufacturing sector - yet -they are still under enormous pressure because of the euro's soaring exchange rate value and other rising costs.

Farmers, too, have to bear many of those costs - for fuel, power and raw materials - but at least they are guaranteed annual payments from the European Union, sometimes even for producing nothing. In addition, they are protected from the full rigours of competition by barriers against imports. In the absence of such guarantees, Irish businesses do the logical thing and seek out new markets to boost their sales. That's why they deserve our support in this battle.

There are clearly opportunities to do more business in such countries as China, India, Brazil and Russia. But instead of participating in efforts to secure a new trade deal our ministers and officials, at the behest of the IFA, skulked in the background, fretting about possible concessions to those emerging economies. Comments from Mary Coughlan, the enterprise, trade and employment minister, were heavily weighted towards reassuring farmers, suggesting her heart was still in her old job at agriculture.

At least the government did not succumb to the IFA's daft demand last weekend that it torpedo the talks by exercising a veto over the EU agreeing to the terms of a deal. That job was left to French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, who effectively gave it the thumbs down. If Ireland had taken the lead, it would have been gross stupidity.

In the aftermath of the Lisbon treaty referendum the government has been trying to win back its friends in Europe. Being seen to bow to pressure from a small and declining section of Irish society would have marked our leaders out as fools.

The IFA, as a lobby group, cannot be prevented from engaging in scare tactics but it needs to show more leadership on behalf of its members. There was nothing in the proposed Doha deal that would have, as the IFA claimed, halved the number of farmers in Ireland, throwing 50,000 of them on to the dole.

Irish farmers are sometimes guilty of extraordinary hypocrisy: over the years they have benefited from exports - sometimes of live animals instead of processed food products. But they whinge mightily at the sight of imports, even if it means cheaper food for the taxpayers who ultimately support them.

Farmers may have a good argument when they claim they enjoy too little of the final price charged by retailers but that is a problem faced by manufacturers too, and they don't enjoy the support and protection afforded to the farmers.

Some day perhaps the government - and junior ministers such as Mansergh - will wake up and realise farmers aren't that powerful after all and don't need to be indulged as they were over the past few weeks.

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