Seanad debates

Tuesday, 19 July 2016

Commencement Matters

Trade Agreements

10:30 am

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We cannot be complacent about trade. We face many challenges in exporting. There are also the international challenges with Brexit, which the Senator mentioned earlier. Negotiating trade agreements takes a long time, they do not happen overnight. We see what is happening with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, TTIP.

I will reiterate what is important here. I do not have information on what happened at the meeting last Friday, but I am sure we can arrange to get it to the Senator. It is important to make the point that this agreement, when it is implemented, will open huge opportunities. The Senator made it clear that we have great trade, but we must grow it further. Consider all the Irish people in Canada at present. There are close relations between the east coast of Canada and Ireland, and Canada wishes to do more business with Europe. We should be in a position to avail of that opportunity. It is also important that, if this agreement comes into force, we can tender for public contracts in Canada, which we could not do previously. That offers huge opportunities for Irish companies that wish to work overseas.

We must focus on the swift ratification of the CETA. I hope we can sign the agreement before the end of autumn. It will be a positive light for Ireland in the coming months. There are huge opportunities. The EU and Canada share many common goals and objectives and each party brings with it high environmental and labour standards. The agreement that has been negotiated will strengthen corporate social responsibility, which is also important. A growing market share in other markets is even more important for Ireland than it is for other countries, particularly since the UK referendum, and I look forward to the Dáil giving approval to ratify this agreement.Perhaps the jobs, enterprise and innovation committee might discuss the CETA as part of its autumn programme. It is important that the Senator raise the issue in order that the committee might take on that role. It is important to discuss issues in the House, particularly trade agreements. I am not sure that was done in the past, but a debate on trade agreements could form part of the committee's work schedule in the autumn.

I look forward to the Dáil giving approval to ratify the agreement once the EU institutions have completed their procedures.

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