Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is not radical to state that, generally speaking, large corporations in the developed world and probably in the undeveloped world have more power than ordinary people. That is not rocket science. I am not against everything but I am concerned about whether the interests of the citizen will be best protected by whatever we end up with. In her latest book, Naomi Klein has addressed the point that the TTIP and many other extant trade and investment rules actually make it difficult to challenge corporations in how they deal with fossil fuels, for example, and so on. They have incredible rights.

I believe there probably is more discussion on this issue in Europe than in Ireland. Given that the mainstream media do not appear to have an interest in the TTIP, can the Minister provide for Members an analysis of his perceptions on what has been negotiated thus far and what is being discussed? Can the Minister give Members a breakdown of what it currently means to Ireland in black and white? There is confusion at the moment. If the Minister could do away with the confusion, he might get greater acceptance from those who are in opposition to this process. It would be great if the Department were able to state how this would and would not affect Ireland.

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