Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the European Union, I believe the Brexit vote is an opportunity for discussion across Europe about the kind of Europe we want. An aspect of that is the question of trade relations between the European Union and other states and the kind of trade relations that exist. There is a lot of controversy around the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP, deal between the EU and the US, in particular because it contains a provision for an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism, ISDS, which are effectively private courts where corporations can sue states if they interfere with their right to profit. There is already an agreement, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, between the EU and Canada which contains an ISDS. My understanding is that the Commission is seeking two things: first, to have it provisionally applied soon, possibly at the next European Council meeting, before any vote of any member state parliament; and, second, according to reports, to have it redefined as an EU-only trade agreement rather than a mixed agreement, which, therefore, would avoid the need for votes in member state parliaments, including the Dáil. Do the Taoiseach and the Government have a position on that? Will he vote against the provisional application of CETA at the European Council when it comes up, possibly next month? In particular, does the Taoiseach consider that the provisional application of CETA without a vote in the Dáil is potentially repugnant to the Constitution because it is an international agreement that could impose a charge onto the State by virtue of ISDS?