Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are a huge number of issues for the upcoming Council of Europe but, in the limited time available, I will not be able to address all of them. It is vitally important to send out a clear message that we are opposed to all bombing taking place in Syria and all such actions of the international community, whether they are Russian, American, Saudi Arabian, Australian, New Zealanders, British, French, German or from any of the many countries that are bombing in Syria and killing civilians. No matter who makes the bombs, it is wrong and Ireland has to send out a clear message to the European Council to that effect.

I congratulate the Walloon Parliament for voting to reject CETA and it is interesting to see the pressure being put on Belgium by the European Commission to reverse the decision by Friday, so that the Council can take a decision to adopt the agreement. I hope the Walloon Parliament stands firm because this is a bad deal for Europe, for Canada and the rest of the world. I pay tribute to the Seanad, which voted against its provisional ratification, and it is disappointing that we have not had an opportunity in this House to debate the motion and have a vote on it because it is vitally important.

In response to my questions on CETA, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, has been a bit economical with the truth. She said a declaration will be signed to the effect that the investor-state dispute mechanisms and the investor courts will not apply but this will be the case only during the provisional ratification period, which can last up to three years. When every member state has gone through the ratification process, the investor-state mechanism comes into being as part of the overall operation of CETA. It is disingenuous for our own Minister for jobs to respond to questions about CETA in this way. It sends out the wrong message but the public, and some parliamentarians across Europe, see that there is something badly wrong with CETA and such international trade agreements. We are rushing into it like headless chickens saying, "It is good for trade and that is all we need to know". That is completely wrong and we need to take a step back. I urge the Taoiseach not to support the provisional ratification on Friday. There is no doubt the European Commission will be busy trying to bribe the Walloon Parliament with offers before Friday but hopefully it will stand firm.

The Taoiseach said he expected Theresa May to update the Council on the British plan to trigger Article 50 in March next year. In the context of Brexit, something we have not considered is the fact that after Brexit in 2019, or whenever it happens, over 70% of our trade exports and imports will be outside the European Union, and we should then consider our own position within the European Union. We should consider an Irexit in light of the potential impact of Brexit on the common travel area and our international trade, with tariff barriers being increased. We could protect the common travel area and trade and we could do a lot to address the imbalances which currency fluctuations are causing now by leaving the European Union ourselves. We could take back sovereignty and stand on our own two feet rather than kowtowing to the European Commission as we have continually done over the past 40 years. It should be a contingency plan and by putting it forward it we might have a better hand in negotiations.

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