The largest trade deal the EU has ever struck got the backing of the majority of member states at an EU Council meeting today.
However, five countries, including Ireland, opposed the Mercosur trade deal.
While it still has to be ratified by the European Parliament, an approved deal would remove duties on 91% of EU exports over a period of 15 years on goods from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia.
Professor John O'Brennan of Maynooth University told Behind the Story that Irish concerns are largely coming from beef farmers, but that the deal is about more than beef.
"Ireland is a much more developed economy than it was 30 years ago - we are one of the most globalised economies in the world," he said.
"If you look at the other areas that really stand to gain from this agreement, they include machinery and construction, pharma and biopharma.
"There are huge numbers of jobs in Ireland that depend on those fields, and potentially we could add a lot more because you've got the possibility of expanding into those markets now."
Prof O'Brennan believes the deal will bring benefits to other sectors.
"If you look at this in the round, purely from an Irish perspective - I think it’s going to be a very good thing for us - and we have to get past this obsession with agriculture featuring within our approach to Brussels," he said.
Prof O'Brennan said that consumers in the Mercosur countries are "a ready market for many of the things we produce".
Host Evelyn O’Rourke also speaks with Dara Tallon, producer of the TV 'fly on the wall’ documentary series ‘On The Beat’, which follows gardaí on patrol, conducting traffic stops and carrying out drug raids.
Dara reveals how much time goes into the production.
"From initial approach to the first day of filming, we were probably four and a half years," he said.
"You’re talking about in and around 1,500 hours of footage per season.
"That 1,500 hours of footage is coming down to four, one-hour shows - that’s what it needs to be."
Dara believes the series would not have been possible 10 years ago.
He says gardaí are increasingly getting used to cameras, both using them, in the form of bodycams and being filmed by passers-by as they do their job.
You can listen to Behind the Story which is available on the RTÉ Radio Player.
You can also find episodes on Apple here, or on Spotify here.
