Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to Deputy Mary Lou McDonald in this House for some time and I have seen her consistently oppose the Canadian agreement, the Japanese agreement, the Korean agreement, all of which we have had significant benefits from. The reality is that these trade agreements have helped Ireland, particularly at a time of very real difficulty, to be able to diversify away from reliance on some markets. As Britain is leaving the European Union, we need to diversify our export base. We also have to be conscious of our defensive interests, one of which is the beef sector. We have very successfully made the case defending the Irish beef sector.

It is beholden on the Deputy to evaluate this agreement in the round because we have not seen governments sign up to honour the Paris Agreement through trade agreements before. This is a strong incentive, and a significant loss, to these countries should they fail to comply with their responsibilities. It is important that we in this House recognise that if want to tackle climate change, we need to do so not by isolating governments that we feel are not doing their bit but by putting more pressure on them to comply.

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