Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt that TTIP is being presented to us in very glowing terms but there are really serious concerns. I listened to the Minister earlier but those concerns have not been addressed. There are massive implications for workers' rights, food safety, agriculture, banking and education. There are also implications for the environment and culture. As it stands, this agreement will undermine and jeopardise the public good and it is a threat to our sovereignty.

The ISDS mechanism is extremely worrying, as it means foreign investors will be able to sue a sovereign state - a democratically elected government - for a loss of profit resulting from public policy decisions. I refer to what I and others in non-governmental organisations, trade unions, politics and civil society see as the aim of TTIP, which is to remove any regulatory barrier to profit and the profit-making potential of multinational and transnational companies. There are examples of this and we know, the Canadian Government is being taken to court by oil and gas companies. We have heard about the legal action being taken by tobacco companies relating to plain packaging. We will see more countries being sued for massive amounts of money by multinational and transnational companies. Countries need that money for vital services like health and education.

There are real fears of an open door to a proliferation of private and for-profit schools and colleges. TTIP has the potential to undermine the independence of our institutes of education and universities. It can also limit the Government, the Minister responsible for education and the Department in framing our educational policy for the public good. When I raised this educational aspect on Leaders' Questions with the Taoiseach, he stated that the negotiating teams were aware of the different elements and would consider this aspect. Where are those negotiations and will education be excluded?

There are also implications relating to culture as there is a strong possibility of cultural expression being damaged. At the behest of France, there is a cultural exception protecting the tradition of French cinema from Hollywood blockbusters, so how can we protect our culture and theatre, for example, from the competition of major international production companies? How can we protect Irish jobs in the cultural area, including those of writers, composers, directors, actors and musicians? As it stands, they are very poorly paid and they have very unstable careers. Their freelance status excludes them from many of the safeguards normally provided for those in employment and they will not be served well by TTIP. There are also implications for the Irish language.

I submitted a parliamentary question and the reply stated that, "according to assessments made by the EU Commission, a comprehensive free trade deal between the EU and the US could, over time, boost EU GDP by 0.5% per annum". The Centre for Economic Policy Research, on the other hand, has stated that EU GDP could grow by 0.48% over ten years. This means a GDP growth of 0.048% per annum. However, there is also a possibility of it being only 0.027% per annum. The EU Trade Commissioner was also flying growth at 0.5% per annum. It is all very misleading.

There are real concerns about the loss of foreign direct investment because of TTIP, and a freedom of information request by a journalist suggested that the IDA had those concerns. We need an honest and open debate on TTIP with real information about its effects on public services, education, health, food, farming, the environment and foreign direct investment. There is also a danger that TTIP could allow the US multinationals to bypass Ireland to gain entry to the EU markets. Are we sleepwalking into a disaster with misleading and inaccurate information?

The Minister's earlier comments about the investor state dispute settlement, ISDS, did not allay the worries and concerns, especially regarding climate change. I raised this on Leaders' Questions on 6 May 2015, at which stage the Taoiseach promised a debate. It has been a very long time coming. At the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, I expressed fears that we would not get an opportunity to discuss all this in the detail it needs. While the carrot is access to a potential market of hundreds of millions of people, giving corporations so much power over our democracies is a very high price to pay for it.

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