Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. I appreciate it. The Irish citizen has no say in the governance of the WHO and so any handing over of power and responsibility to this body by our own directly-elected representatives must be thoroughly scrutinised. The treaty is built on the premise that while the technical expertise on how to govern and end a pandemic exists, the political will to do so is missing. Once again an incorrect assertion is being made that the science is settled and that it must be enforced absolutely. This would leave no room for tailor-made pandemic responses suited to individual countries in light of the myriad factors that affect such strategies, namely, population spread, density and age, public health infrastructure, transport systems and topography.

While the full details of the convention will not be finalised until 2023, there is already cause for concern. One such area of concern is that of finance, because an increase in compulsory funding of the WHO by member states would naturally follow in order to allow for the administration of the scheme. Financing resources could be used to encourage compliance with a pandemic treaty. An unknown amount of taxpayers' money could be funnelled into a pooled insurance mechanism, only for Ireland to be cut off from access to such funds if it does not follow the WHO's plan to the letter, making future governments of Ireland and future generations of Irish people further beholden to unelected bureaucrats.Any such sacrifice of sovereignty must be in accordance with the wishes of the people. It is inappropriate for any senior Government official, or any official, to throw his or her weight behind it before a full referendum of the Irish people is held. These shifts of confidence further and further away from the voter contribute to the ever-increasing democratic decay of our society and must be questioned.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his patience.