Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

The ISDS is in place to defend the right of corporations to profit and to say that any interference with that right to profit under the expansive fair and equitable treatment and legitimate expectations provisions constitutes something that they can then sue a state for huge amounts. That can be workers' rights such as in the case of Veolia suing Egypt for increasing the minimum wage; environmental regulation such as in the case of Canadian subsidiary of Lone Pine Resources based in the US suing Canada over a moratorium on fracking or Vattenfall suing Germany over a moratorium on nuclear power; or consumer rights such as in the case of the pharmaceutical giant, Eli Lilly, suing Canada for €500 million under NAFTA. There are repeated examples under NAFTA of corporations suing states that try to defend the interests of their citizens as opposed to corporate entities. Does the Minister agree this represents a serious danger and that the Government should not go along with it?

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