Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I think the Deputy is trying to mislead the House here. The Korea agreement that was signed recently has resulted in Europe's export sales into Korea growing at 2.5 times the rate of growth of any other market. The net gain that is occurring as a result of that agreement - it is tangible and can be tested - is the addition by European companies of jobs, employment and opportunities. TTIP has the same potential. It will reduce tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers. It will allow food products in. It will ensure pharmaceutical products have fewer obstacles. It will open opportunities for growth in certain sectors. That is really important. The net benefit when that is analysed will be more jobs for Irish people in the economy. As the Deputy said, there will be a movement towards the stronger sectors. If our dairy sector grows, there will be a decline in the use of land for other agricultural purposes. People will switch from one product to another. That is a dynamic process which happens in the economy all the time. It is certainly within our capacity to adapt to a 0.7% movement over a ten-year period. It will not be like the impact on the construction sector, which was mentioned by the Deputy. There was a 66% collapse in our construction sector over four years because of some very bad policies that had been pursued. I think the Deputy is seeking to mislead by making false comparisons here. This will have a net benefit, particularly for Ireland. We should seek to embrace it, but not naively.

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