Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 22 September 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Photo of Francis Noel DuffyFrancis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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I confirm that I am on campus. I thank the Minister for his statement. It is much appreciated. I have found that the discourse so far has been informative. I touched on this before at a meeting of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs but it appears that this trade agreement and its benefits to our society outweigh our right to defend ourselves via our national courts through the arbitration process noted, which is similar to the construction dispute resolution processes that are in place to speed up resolutions and reduce costs to both parties.

The Minister mentioned positive income to the State in the context of tax revenue and workers on the ground. Has his Department considered and performed a risk analysis to the State relative to this benefit and the potential litigation against us?