Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank all 14 Senators who contributed to the debate on the motion this afternoon, whether they supported it or were against it. I also thank the Senators who came to listen to the debate, but did not speak. I also thank, of course, the proposer of the motion, Senator Alice-Mary Higgins. We debated this issue before in the Seanad Chamber, when I realised her special interest in this subject.

Senator Higgins said Ireland has a healthy trading relationship with Canada, which is correct, but we want to make the relationship even better. There are new opportunities and frontiers coming on board and new air links between Ireland and Canada being put in place. We want to be ready to seize those opportunities in the challenging environment in which we live at the moment.

I ask all Senators present to remember three aspects of the CETA agreement. Both Senators Richmond and Ó Clochartaigh referred to a number of issues. Senator Richmond referred to the EU-South Korea agreement that was finalised four years ago. Again, widespread concern about that agreement was aired at the time. That is democracy and that is important. However, when we look at the statistics relating to Europe and South Korea over that four year period, exports of goods and services from the European Union have risen by 55% and 40% respectively. Those figures speak for themselves on what a good trade agreement can do. Further, we do not need to take just what politicians are saying on board. Independent studies from across Europe and Canada have shown that CETA will boost trade and investment. The last thing I want to note is that every €1 billion in exports from the European Union supports 14,000 jobs in the European Union. We all talk about employment and jobs in today's challenging environment, but we need to bear those figures in mind because they are important.

I cannot respond to every Senator who contributed today but I have listened attentively to all of them and taken notes on their concerns. However, the text of CETA, as well as that of TTIP, has been publicly available for the past six months on the Commissioner's website. I wish to make that clear.

I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad on this major transatlantic agreement which will be of significant benefit to Ireland. It is part of the EU's global trade agenda to harness and improve globalisation through progressive agreements with third countries. Expert-led growth and foreign direct investment has transformed Ireland's economy. It is now time to take the next step forward in trade by working with our EU partners and third countries to jointly grow prosperity for all our citizens.

The global economy is changing in many ways and making trade more important than ever before. Ireland is an open economy. We export 80% of what we produce. We therefore need ambitious, modern and progressive trade agreements. We need agreements which protect our values and high standards, such as the protection of labour rights, as Senator Nash has stated, and environmental standards, as Senator O'Sullivan has stated. We need to have trade agreements which benefit small firms and citizens. SMEs were mentioned here this afternoon. This is particularly true as a result of the UK referendum. There was little mention of Brexit this evening, I thought there would be far more mention of it.

Trade agreements provide opportunities for Irish-based firms to further diversify their export markets. CETA is a comprehensive free trade agreement that will remove tariffs between the EU and Canada. It will create new business opportunities in services and investment. It is a modern, high-standard agreement with the ability to set a new global standard for trade agreements. It will end limitations in access to public contracts, open up markets for services and offer predictable conditions for investors.

CETA is about benefitting people and business - big and small. It will save on duty costs, as 99.6% of all industrial tariffs will be eliminated on entry into force of the agreement. Irish firms will benefit from the recognition of product standards and certification, saving the double-testing on both sides of the Atlantic. This is of particular benefit to smaller firms, which can ill-afford to pay for the same certification test twice.

Ireland has also successfully campaigned for the low beef import quota from Canada into the EU, thereby safeguarding our important EU market in this area. Ireland, on the other hand, has secured full, unrestricted access for Irish beef and other meat products into the Canadian market. That is very important. We have unrestricted access into the Canadian market whereas the Canadian beef coming here will be restricted. The first 35,000 tonnes carcass weight will be allowed tariff free, but thereafter there will be tariffs.

We speak about Ireland and our exports. Let us be positive about brand Ireland. It is a huge selling point for us all over the world, particularly in regard to our food. CETA has the potential to keep prices down and provide consumers with a greater choice of quality products. These are some of the benefits of the trade deal with Canada as well as providing new market opportunities for Irish firms. For example, an Irish software start-up in the telecommunications sector is seeking to expand into the north American market. CETA provides for the expansion of visas for intra-organisational employee transfers from 90 days to a maximum of three years. It will allow the Irish company to establish a presence in the market by sending an employee to Canada. In addition, CETA opens public contracts to Irish tenders, so this Irish software start-up will be allowed to bid for both federal and sub-federal public contracts.

Another Irish company is supplying the Canadian market with specialised construction materials. CETA will eliminate 99.6% of industrial tariffs applying to Irish companies exporting to Canada. For certain construction products, this will result in the immediate reduction of 7% in tariffs. CETA's provision surrounding the intra-organisational transfers will also be of benefit to this Irish company.

Irish firms exporting to Canada will have an opportunity to improve their after-sales and maintenance-related services by sending engineers and other specialists to Canada. Professionals may be accompanied by their spouses and families when temporarily assigned to subsidiaries abroad. Contractors may stay in the country for a period of 12 months instead of the current six months. The EU and Canada will, for the first time, agree to accept the products standards and certifications currently upheld in both jurisdictions. This means that a conformity assessment body in Ireland can test Irish products for export to Canada and vice versa. As a result, Irish companies can expect to benefit from savings as they will not be required to undergo the double-testing on both sides of the Atlantic. There is a clear opportunity for Irish firms and I want to see them move quickly to benefit from the advantages which we have negotiated.

I would also like to address some specific issues raised during the debate on this motion. Given the position taken by Ireland and other member states, the Commission has submitted CETA to the Council for a decision as a mixed agreement, that is, one requiring both EU and individual member states ratification, as outlined by some of the speakers here this afternoon. As that process may take a number of years to complete, the agreement provides for provisional application. Provisional application is a standard process in free trade agreements. It provides for the coming into effect of those areas over which the EU has competence. The European Commission is currently finalising the text of the provisional application of CETA for submission to the Council for a decision. It will be a matter for the Council and the European Parliament - remember the European Parliament has to decide as well - on the signature and the provisional application of CETA.

Following concerns raised by a number of EU member states - Senator Higgins referred to Germany - all those concerns have been addressed because they have been omitted from the provisional application. I repeat that the EU now proposes not to apply the provisions in the agreement relating to investment protection and investment dispute settlements. This will be confirmed by a legally binding declaration between the EU and Canada. The text of the declaration is currently being finalised.The declaration will also provide further assurances that public services and the EU’s high standards in health and safety will not be affected by CETA. I will be attending a meeting of EU trade Ministers in Luxembourg on 18 October 2016 to decide on the signature and provisional application of CETA and to approve the joint declaration. Senator Norris said an idiot was going there, so I am the idiot to whom he was referring. That is his opinion. It is a pity he is not present to hear my response. He would learn a little more rather than jumping in and out to talk.

The full entering into force of CETA will be subject, in the first instance, to a Council decision, with the consent of the European Parliament. Second, it will be subject to the approval of all member states through the relevant national ratification procedures. In accordance with Article 29.5.2° of the Constitution, Dáil Eireann will be part of the final decision to ratify CETA. By virtue of this, the proposed investment court system can only come into effect once ratified by a vote of the Dáil. The basic laws and principles of the European Union, including the precautionary principle, will not be affected by CETA. CETA will not affect EU rules on food safety or the environment, which was a concern of some of the speakers in the debate. As is the case now, Canadian products will only be able to be imported and sold in the EU if they fully comply with EU regulations. Senator Grace O'Sullivan referred to that issue. CETA does not affect EU restrictions on beef containing growth hormones or genetically modified organisms, GMOs. CETA will not restrict either the EU or Canada from passing new laws in areas of public interest such as the environment and health and safety, which is of extreme importance.

CETA provides the basis for a future dialogue between the EU and Canada on policy developments. The regulatory co-operation forum is a voluntary co-operation mechanism. It cannot change existing, or develop new, legislation and does not have any decision-making powers. It can only make recommendations to regulators and legislators. Any initiative entailing a change in EU regulations can only be introduced and pursued outside the CETA framework. CETA affirms governments’ right to organise or regulate public services like the water supply, health or education. The state will be able to keep public monopolies for a particular service if it wishes. Nothing in CETA prevents the state from deciding which services it wishes to keep universal and public, and if it wishes to subsidise them.

With regard to public procurement, CETA will eliminate the imbalance between the EU and Canada. The EU procurement market is already de factoopen to Canadians. This includes the sub-federal level. The access for EU firms in Canada is very limited. For the first time, Canadian provinces, territories and municipalities will open their procurement markets to a third country. Canada’s provincial procurement market is estimated to be double the size of its federal equivalent. Canada will also create a single electronic procurement website that combines information on all tenders, which corresponds to existing intra-EU arrangements. This would greatly facilitate the effective access of firms to procurement opportunities in Canada. Making the trading landscape easier is particularly important to SMEs to internationalise and grow exports. Trade barriers tend to disproportionately burden smaller firms, who have fewer resources to overcome them than larger firms.

I support and welcome CETA. It is very important for Ireland. Given our historical economic and cultural ties, Ireland’s enterprises are particularly well placed to take up opportunities to trade more easily with Canada. This morning I attended the opening of Enterprise Ireland’s annual International Markets Week, along with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor. International Markets Week is Enterprise Ireland’s single largest client event, where more than 140 international market advisers from over 30 Enterprise Ireland overseas offices will hold meetings with over 400 client companies on developing new global export plans in the context of Brexit. This event is just one example of the importance of outward looking and open trade for Ireland. The Canada agreement and the EU’s other trade agreements are key instruments to assist the work of Enterprise Ireland in supporting Irish enterprise.

The total value of Irish exports to Canada is €1.874 billion per year with total imports of €542 million. Ireland is the fourth largest recipient in the EU of foreign direct investment from Canada. The value of our exports could increase substantially with this new trade deal. I support the provisional application of CETA as I am keen for Irish firms to enjoy the tariff free benefits and new business opportunities as soon as possible. CETA and the EU’s other trade agreements help to open new markets, break down barriers and provide new opportunities for Irish firms. For these reasons, I support the signature and provisional application of CETA and oppose the motion.

I thank Senators for their contributions to the debate. It was a lively, constructive and colourful debate, which is what we wish to see in the Seanad in the future as well.