Mr. Barry Andrews:

I know that, but that is the new way we should be dealing with cross-border disputes around investment in our international trade area.

To Senator Sherlock, I cannot answer many of the questions. I am not on the EMPL committee but I agree that the financial firepower of the European Union is critical. That is what the EU is for. It is there to do the things we cannot do individually as member states.

Senator Ruane spoke about the corporate sustainability due diligence directive. I am not happy with the scope of the directive because most of the companies proposed to be caught by it are already subject to due diligence in things like the batteries directive or forestry directive. Many other companies are doing it anyway. When you take all of those out of the scope of the new directive, it is a very modest proposal. I will try, in drafting the opinion for the trade committee, to make sure the scope is wider.

In response to Senator Clonan, Ireland is one of the few EU member states to be a signatory and state party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, to our great credit. I have tried to put pressure on the European Commission at least to attend the meeting of the states parties. There was one in March in Vienna. Ireland has a proud record in that space, not just on prohibition but also on non-proliferation. The Senator talked about tactical nuclear weapons. The very idea is ridiculous, but the stigma against the use of nuclear weapons has been significantly eroded and people are nervous about it.