Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is an argument that the entire process also runs counter to Bunreacht na hÉireann. Nach bhfuil sé aisteach gurb iad an dream céanna a chaith a dteanga ag rá go gcaithfear an Bunreacht a chosaint i gcónaí le linn na coinbhleachta ar an oileán seo ach anois atá sásta an chumhacht sin a ghéilleadh.

Given that TTIP was effectively defeated by people power, we now see an attempt to fast-track CETA so that the momentum cannot be built up in a similar way. We in Sinn Féin, both here and in Europe, have been and will be highlighting how CETA is as bad as, if not worse than, TTIP. It contains threats to agriculture, consumer rights and employment. There has been a lack of debate in civic society on the issue. Any attempts to raise concerns are dismissed as attempts to damage Ireland's reputation internationally. I must point out that it is mainly Fine Gael Deputies and MEPs who seem hell-bent on stifling any public debate. The fact that these negotiations are taking place away from the public gaze allows some of the more repugnant elements of the deal to slip under the radar. The investment court would worry most people if they were fully aware of it. Once again the Government is behind public opinion, and I warn it that on the last few occasions it has pressed on with initiatives in spite of public opposition, it has been forced into embarrassing climbdowns. We have with this motion an opportunity to constructively guide the Government away from another disastrous situation.

Part of the blocking of the debate in Europe is due to the Fine Gael group in Europe having blocked the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development from setting out a formal opinion on CETA. It is important that the committee noted that CETA will allow 50,000 tonnes of Canadian beef to enter the EU market, much of which will displace Irish exports. How much of that debate has happened with the Irish farming sector? Farmers were not allowed to put forward formally their views on the deal in advance of it being made. Matt Carthy, during the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, warned that deals such as TTIP, CETA and Mercosur pose direct threats to job creation and threaten traditional farming models in rural areas. There may be a sense that this will only affect Irish farmers, but I attended a meeting in Europe on TTIP with American farmers - small farmers and community farmers - who are equally as concerned about the implications of negotiations and deals such as TTIP and CETA on their incomes and that we are corporatising the industry and handing it over to the big corporations to do what they will.

Can the Minister of State tonight confirm to us that he is not concerned that fracking or fracking companies could in future use this investment court to sue this country if fracking is not allowed on the island of Ireland? Can he give us that commitment 100%?

I note as well that during the discussions about TTIP there was much talk about trade and investment, etc., but very few economists could show the net job gains that would come from TTIP. I argue that there is a similar situation with CETA. We will see many smaller businesses go to the wall and amalgamation of businesses and multinationals taking over and corporatising smaller businesses. It will affect small operators in both countries.

On the issue of constitutionality, could the Minister of State tell us whether he or the Government got legal advice about referring chapter 8 of CETA, which concerns investment, to a referendum? Perhaps he might talk to us about that because Matt Carthy got legal advice in April that the chapter on investment protection would require a referendum before it could be signed into Irish law. The creation of a permanent investment court removed from any national accountability for the benefit of international investors and multinational corporations, we believe, will infringe on our Constitution and be to the detriment of our citizens. Mr. Carthy has sought meetings with the Minister, Deputy Mitchell O'Connor, to present these legal findings but to date she has declined and refused to meet him. I find it very strange, if she is acting in the Irish national interest and in favour of debate and checking out all the options, that she has refused to meet Matt Carthy on this issue to consider the legal advice he has been given.

Contrary to Senator Richmond's note on people standing up for CETA at a European level, a number of European organisations have come out against CETA, including the European Trade Union Confederation, Friends of the Earth, the European Consumer Organisation and the European Anti-Poverty Network.

I believe that agreements such as CETA and TTIP are part of the race to the bottom and a push across the world to dilute workers' rights, turn labour into more of a commodity and diminish the role of trade unions across the board. Therefore, we are wholeheartedly in support of this motion, we commend the Senators for having tabled it and we call on Fianna Fáil to reconsider its position. I did not see the acronym "CETA" in the confidence and supply agreement so I am not sure if it is totally tied into that-----