Minister for European Affairs Thomas Byrne has said that he did not expect a vote on the Mercosur trade deal until January.
However, he said the agreement held many benefits for Irish farmers and the wider economy and that Ireland could be a "significant beneficiary" to Mercosur.
Member states were expected to vote on the EU-Mercosur trade agreement this week, with the Commission planning for a ratification meeting in Brazil on 20 December.
However, France has called for a delay in the vote, which was expected to result in a weighted majority in favour of the deal.
Speaking in Brussels today, Mr Byrne said: "I would expect it will be delayed till January, but let's see what [EU] leaders discuss [at their summit on Thursday]".
"It certainly wouldn't be decided at the leaders level, but they could have it as part of the discussion. But the indications that I have at the moment are that it may well be delayed until January," he said.
"We have to remember, always, particularly from Ireland's point of view, that there are huge benefits to global trade agreements. Ireland actually benefits much more than most other countries, so they're very important to Ireland," he said.
"There have been certain issues here in relation to one part of the farming sector, which is the beef sector, which countries want to see addressed," he added.
He said if farmers' concerns could be addressed by the European Commission then there would be a "trade agreement which benefits, actually, many farmers in Ireland and benefits the wider economy".
He said the Government was still "working through" the discussions with the European Commission.
"It hasn't come to a position on it, but there's no doubt about it that Ireland would be one of the most significant beneficiaries," he stated.
EU Parliament votes in favour of safeguards
The European Parliament has voted in favour of safeguards intended to protect Irish and EU farmers from being damaged by the potential Mercosur deal, despite three Irish MEPs opposing the safety measures as they do not go far enough.
The safeguards proposal - which is separate to a potential vote on the deal itself by the European Council in Brussels - was passed in Strasbourg by 662 votes to 431, with 161 abstentions.
The safeguards plans were put forward by the European Commission to address concerns over the potential deal, and include a clause which would allow authorities to intervene if beef and farming groups can show they have been damaged by the importation of beef from Latin America as part of the Mercosur deal.
The clause was put forward due to farming groups warning that beef from Mercosur countries has lower food safety and animal welfare standards, and would enter the EU at a lower tariff rate of 7.5%.
However, the European Commission has argued that any food products coming into the EU will still comply with EU health standards.
It said that the Mercosur deal is needed to significantly enhance the EU's economy by in part the sale of German cars at better rates to Latin America, and at a time when the bloc needs new economic alternatives to traditional partners like the US.
In a European Parliament vote in Strasbourg, the safeguards proposal was backed by 662 MEPs and rejected by 431.
Among Irish MEPs, it was supported by Fine Gael's four MEPs Sean Kelly, Maria Walsh, Regina Doherty and Nina Carbery; Fianna Fail's Billy Kelleher and Cynthia Ní Mhurchú; Independent Ireland's Ciaran Mullooly and Independent Michael McNamara.
However, it was voted against by Independent Luke Ming Flanagan and Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion as it did not go far enough to protect farmers.
Ireland's three remaining MEPs - Labour's Aodhán Ó Riordáin and Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen and Barry Andrews - were not available to vote for personal matters unrelated to the vote.
The safeguards vote is separate to a decision due to be taken by the European Council, and subsequently ratified by the European Commission, on whether to agree to the Mercosur deal.
This decision was until recent days expected to be made at the European Council meeting tomorrow and Thursday in Brussels, allowing European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to travel to Brazil to sign the deal on Saturday.
However, due to ongoing opposition to the deal among some EU member states, this timeline now appears less likely.
EU figures have warned that failure to ratify the agreement in the coming weeks could sink the deal, with trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič warning that such a scenario would damage the EU's credibility and predictability.
European business groups have strongly urged ratification of the Mercosur deal which would open up access for a range of European manufactured and agri food products to a market over 270 million people.
Farming and environmental groups have warned that South American beef is produced according to lower food safety and animal health standards. EU officials insist that any food imported into the EU must comply with existing food health rules.
