Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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247. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the ratification of CETA at EU and MS level. [26420/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Latvia is the only Member State to notify the EU Commission that it had ratified the EU - Canada Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The status of ratification at Member States level is available on the European Council’s website at .  

I fully support provisional application of the Agreement.  I am of the view that there should be no impediment to Irish companies immediately taking advantage of the provisions of CETA including eliminating tariffs on almost all of key exports, access to the Canadian procurement market, easing regulatory barriers and ensuring more transparent rules for market access.  The main provisions offering new opportunities for Irish business will come into force once Canada has completed its own procedures.  It is expected that CETA will provisionally apply from summer 2017.

I believe that it is important to wait to see the benefits of CETA come into being, before CETA is put before the Dáil for ratification.  Then we can have a fully informed, evidence based debate on the value of the Agreement to Ireland.