Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a pleasure to follow that oration from Senator Norris that was met with such resounding applause. I fear my oration will not be as rousing and will definitely not be met with applause. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking this debate. I look forward to his response. I commend Senators Alice-Mary Higgins and Grace O'Sullivan and the other signatories for putting forward this motion. It is a fine motion and it is vital that we debate it here in this House.

I am a committed Europhile and supporter of the EU but one of my biggest criticisms of the EU in recent months concerns something that led directly to the Brexit vote in the UK, namely, an outdated and highly arrogant approach to the way the EU does business. It is completely out of touch despite all the positives coming from the EU. The very fact that this agreement was largely negotiated in secret behind closed doors might have been due to very valid commercial reasons but, ultimately, it is no longer acceptable. Hiding things behind closed doors, giving them an incomprehensible acronym and expecting widespread public support will not happen anymore. The great political leaders in Brussels, Strasbourg and beyond need to take that on board if there is to be any chance of the EU surviving what is easily the biggest crisis it will ever face over the next couple of years. The fact is that we have not had a comprehensive discussion or indeed any discussion about CETA in this country and the discussions held so far at European level have been limited at best. I was very fortunate to take part in one of those during my time on the European Committee of the Regions as I was the rapporteur for the report on this topic. Arguments and comments that are misleading in some cases, factually incorrect in others and generally highly emotive have developed in that vacuum. It is very easy to get behind a banner with a big red line going through a couple of anonymous letters and put the case that you are looking to protect this or that but it is not as easy to put forward the case for a highly complex yet vitally important trade deal.

I make those criticisms of the EU and, with apologies to the Minister of State, of my own Government because I am not only a strong supporter of the European process but I have no problem in admitting and putting on the record that I believe strongly that CETA is a really good deal. It is a good deal for Europe, Ireland, Canada and, most importantly, the people of the EU and the countries mentioned. Very few people are prepared to actually go out and bat for more trade, freer trade and better trade because that is what we need now. Facing into this time of absolute economic uncertainty, the last thing a small open trading country like Ireland needs to do is close itself off from the very things that allow us to navigate these choppy waters and assert ourselves in the global world.

I have no problem with the first three points in the motion. I agree with them but I believe competition is good when we are looking at public service provision, procurement and tender. I dare say that if we had a bit more competition and privatisation in the bus market, we would not have sat through as many days of strikes in the capital city.