Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I will give a very concrete reason the Government should not wait until the end of the year and the answer is CETA, the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada, which is likely to come into force in a preliminary way before the end of the year. That includes an investor-state dispute settlement, ISDS, mechanism.

Under a similar ISDS, the Lone Pine company has sued Canada precisely because Quebec has introduced a moratorium on fracking. The claim is for $250 million. If we do not put a ban in place in advance of CETA and ISDS coming into effect, any future decision to introduce one could cost the State a significant sum in a private court for what is seen as indirect expropriation and an interference with the right to profit.

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