Results 5,441-5,460 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We will provide it but is the Deputy suggesting that none of that increase in trade benefited any SME?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do know it did. I absolutely know it did; I just cannot quantify the benefit.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not "enamoured"; I just think this is a good trade agreement that we should ratify, and should have done so ages ago. It is not my baby. I was not involved in negotiating it. I do not hold any particular candle for it. It is an agreement that is good for Ireland that should have been ratified ages ago, which would allow us then to focus on other issues of even greater importance. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There can certainly be a debate but our Constitution is clear that only the Dáil can ratify international agreements and it would require a referendum to change that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have the details of that in front of me but the Deputy is correct that there is a section on that in the agreement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The point I was making earlier is that a false argument is being put forward by some, although not by the Senator, that CETA will somehow allow Canadian companies to sue the State or State agencies. This is a bogus argument because, as we have learned from this session, Canadian companies sue states all the time. Irish companies sue states too, and vice versa, and do so in courts and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Yes. Again, the case would have to be upheld. It would have to be true that the Government or a Government agency discriminated against and treated a Canadian company unfairly. It is already the case in the national courts that such a case could be taken and there could be damages, and I believe punitive damages as well as compensation. The answer to the Deputy's question is "Yes" but I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That is the standard article under which we ratify international treaties. I presume it can always be argued that there is a small charge in ratifying anything.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: They can sue now in the national courts.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There are the European courts, for example, where we operate under a treaty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy keeps saying that I said it is all the same. That is not what I said.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will, absolutely. I am sorry if I did not answer that question clearly, but when it comes to which article of the Constitution we use to ratify a particular treaty, it is a question on which I would be guided by the Attorney General. It had not come up in any debate I have been involved in prior to now. I will certainly check into it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: No, that is okay. The Deputy's points were well made.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is probably a comment. I am happy to take it on board.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We do. I will get them for the Deputy. There has been an increase in two-way trade. I will see if I can find the numbers. They were in the Copenhagen Economics report. I am just trying to find the piece of paper.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Some €1.9 billion worth of goods and €2.3 billion worth of services went out. Those goods figures are for 2020 and the service figures are for 2019. We do not have the service figures for 2020 yet. We do not have the Canada figures to hand but we will get them to the Deputy if we cannot find them in the next couple of minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Am I correct that I am to come back on the negative list and the trade unions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am also to come back on the constitutional mechanism that we will use to ratify the agreement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, the Canada trade figures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I sincerely apologise for that again. I will make sure the committee gets my statements in future. I will also just mention that we are waiting on the pre-legislative scrutiny report on the employment permits Bill. We are keen to get on with that legislation but we do not yet have the report from the committee. It is delaying us.