Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

International trade agreements carry with them huge opportunities and also huge challenges. Deputy O’Sullivan is well aware of the Canadian deal, CETA. It was originally assumed to be a done deal and that it would just be signed by the European Commission. In fact, it has been determined to be a mixed agreement which includes both European and national competencies. Therefore, the elements that are appropriate to Europe will be dealt with by it, and the government of each country will have to approve the agreement in terms of its own provisions, which will obviously require lengthy discussion in some countries.

In respect of TTIP, there is a great distance yet to go in that regard. Work is starting on the 14th chapter. It was originally agreed to start the discussions when Ireland held the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2013. There were two very good teams, on both the American side and the European side, and they began to discuss the many complex areas involved in TTIP. It was assumed that the agreement could be concluded towards the end of this year but, personally, I doubt whether that will happen. It will probably go some distance beyond that.

It is a precondition of the negotiations that there can be no dilution of standards in labour conditions, the environment or health. It is an issue that is proposed to be completed. It is different from the old type of dispute and the way settlements can be arranged. I assume that if and when the discussions on TTIP are concluded, the opportunity for a couple of million jobs either side of the Atlantic is one attraction, but there are issues that need to be teased out. On the European side, we have reading rooms close to Government Buildings and all of the information and notes are online for everybody to read, assess, understand and comment on. There is no secrecy in any of the deliberations from the European end in respect of TTIP. That does not apply from the American side, as it takes a different view. For us, the negotiations are all in public and up front. For those who wish to involve themselves in a deeper way, we have provided specific reading rooms for elements of the chapters that have already been concluded and those that are currently under discussion.

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