Laura Harmon
Industrial and Commercial Panel · Labour Party · Ireland
“There is not enough room for a wheelchair to go around the side of the building. There is no obvious proper entrance. The reception is upstairs. There is no lift access for anyone with mobility issues, buggies or deliveries. The classrooms are an irregular shape and are not the standard classroom size of 49 sq. m.”
“Her cause of death was recorded as “congenital debilities”. For many of those babies who died at Bessborough, the reason given for their death was congenital debility or marasmus, which was essentially starvation. The reason given for these babies’ deaths was often very vague.”
“I am speaking again about the issue of Bessborough in Cork city and to call once again on the Taoiseach to act on this. There is still time to do the right thing and to have a negotiation process with the developer now or, failing that, to look at compulsory purchase of this site. The burial records have been sealed in relation to this.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her response. Will she call for a meeting in person with the school? Could that be facilitated to give the school an update in person? Does she have an idea as to a commitment on the timeline?”
“Will the Minister of State provide an update on what has been done to progress the request for additional school accommodation for Coláiste Daibhéid in Cork city and a timeline for the project?”
“It reaches high standards academically as well as in sport, STEM and stewardship. It has fantastic students and they deserve better. At present, the school is on the edge of Douglas Street Campus on Sawmill Street. There are two buildings. One is Buckingham House, which dates from the mid-19th century.”
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“This was made crystal clear by the vicious way the Trump Administration responded when, earlier this year, the AI company Anthropic asked the US military to put in place the simplest safeguards for the use of its models in autonomous warfare. Clearly, men like Trump have no interest in any limits or safety measures on the use of these weapons systems, and this should worry us all deeply. Turning to today’s Bill, Ireland cannot be complicit in this chilling new form of war. The Bill will ban the use, sale and transit of autonomous weapons or their components in Ireland. This is a crucial step in maintaining our neutrality and our moral standing in the world. Ireland has been a leader on disarmament for many decades and it is essential that we lead from the front as the sinister use of automated weaponry is rapidly expanding.”
“If it was an AI system that picked that target, where does that leave us? It is also most worrying that we are seeing the targeting of other minorities in recent wars and illegal wars. The gamification of disabled people is one example of what is happening. This is extremely worrying and is a matter we should all be concerned about. We cannot ignore that there are fundamental existential questions for us as a species. Handing over the control of deadly weapons to unaccountable machines, with seemingly no guard-rails, is something we should all agree is unacceptable. We can have no faith, however, that the hubristic, narcissistic leaders in ultimate control of these systems are giving this the slightest thought at this point.”
“AI weaponry threatens to pour fuel on that fire. Fundamentally, when AI makes a mistake in a conflict, who can we hold responsible? For those of us who have not yet given up on the conviction that international justice and international law are our only way to ensure peace and prosperity, this is not an academic question. It is vitally important for the future of humanity. Last month, as Senator Higgins said, Pope Leo spoke out against the use of AI in war and on this I agree with him. It is not clear whether the horrific strike on a girls' school in southern Iran on the first day of the war was targeted using AI or if it was the result of a shocking human error but there is at least some faint hope that somehow, someday, justice could be delivered if a human is found responsible.”
“In the first 24 hours of the US-Israel waged war, the US struck over 1,000 sites in Iran. That was an assault twice the size of the initial attacks of the Iraq war 23 years ago and was enabled by these systems and by AI. We have now clearly entered a world where powerful men without any respect for international law are not just waging illegal wars but are able to do so with a brutality and magnitude that was unthinkable before the development of advanced AI. That is not to say that unthinkable acts and wars did not take place before this but this is the scale that we are dealing with now because of these systems and this technology. There are obviously significant ethical issues here. In recent years, we have seen international law undermined at every turn and leaders operating with impunity.”
“I thank the Civil Engagement Group for its work in bringing forward this important Bill. It has the full support of the Labour Party and the Cross-Party Group in the Seanad. It is a Bill that deals with what is fast becoming one of the most pressing issues of our time, which is the proliferation of autonomous weapon systems. We are already seeing the rapid expansion of the use of these systems in conflicts, wars and illegal wars across the world. The illegal bombing campaign waged on Iran by Trump's America and Netanyahu's Israel in recent months was the moment we first saw these weapons used at such a mass scale but it was not the first time they have been used. The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon have also seen artificial intelligence used for the targeting of strikes. However, the scale we saw in the attacks on Iran was new.”
“We need to commit ourselves to continuing to challenge public attitudes, promote awareness and improve public policy. We need to keep progressing and speaking about this matter as much as we can whenever we get the opportunity as public representatives.”
“Women make up a growing cohort of people living with HIV in Ireland and this absolutely needs to be publicised. We need more public awareness in relation to this because many women, unfortunately, may not perceive themselves to be at risk when in reality the opposite is the case. We need to continue to support public awareness campaigns and a health-led approach. I would welcome any update from the Minister of State on the implementation of our sexual health strategy, efforts to reduce late diagnosis, the future of opt-out testing and the steps being taken to tackle HIV-related stigma across our healthcare system and wider society. My colleague Deputy Maria Sherlock, the Dáil Labour Party spokesperson on health, will be hosting a briefing in July in the audiovisual room in relation to this issue.”
“Through advocacy and public engagement, they have created visibility and community for people living with HIV in this country and are breaking down the stigma and barriers. I also want to acknowledge the great Panti, whose voice has done so much to advance conversations around dignity and inclusion in Ireland in relation to this matter. Looking to the future, I welcome the comments from the Minister for Health on progress. I particularly welcome the opt-out HIV testing pilots under way at St. James's Hospital and other locations across the country. The initiative needs to be rolled out nationally. We need greater awareness when it comes to HIV among women. There is a huge misconception about who HIV affects. It can affect anybody in society and does not discriminate.”
“It is one of the greatest public health success stories of our time. We have to acknowledge that. It is a huge public health and medical success story. Science has advanced, but stigma has not completely disappeared. Education remains so important. Public understanding needs to keep pace. I acknowledge the visitors in the Gallery today. I acknowledge organisations such as Outhouse, HIV Ireland, Teach Solais, Dundalk Outcomers, LINQ, Gay Project in Cork and sexual health centres all across the country for the work that they do. I also acknowledge people like Ger Philpott, who has documented and preserved the experiences of our own LGBTQ+ community at a time when many stories went untold. I thank advocates such as Robbie Lawlor and Enda McGrattan, better known as Veda Lady, who continue their work through Poz Vibe.”
“It happened because people living with HIV, healthcare workers, campaigners, community organisations, ordinary people, families and friends stood up. They refused to accept silence, stigma and exclusion. I thank them for their courage and for continuing in this regard today. Thanks to extraordinary advances in medicine, HIV is no longer the diagnosis it once was. People living with HIV now, when diagnosed early and even with a later diagnosis if they have access to treatment, can live long, healthy and full lives. We know that people who are undetectable cannot transmit HIV sexually, nor can they pass it on during pregnancy. This message has been said already today, but we can never say it enough: U=U, or undetectable equals untransmittable. This has transformed lives and it should continue to do so.”
“I also acknowledge our former colleague David Norris, with whom, unfortunately, I did not get to serve, and all the work he did over many decades in raising awareness and breaking down barriers and stigma in Ireland and across the world. We also remember those whose stories never got told and the families, partners and friends who supported loved ones through all the difficult years – those who remained invisible throughout. I think it is important that we bring their plight to light now that we have the opportunity. The story of HIV in Ireland is about activism, resilience and compassion. It did not happen by accident. Progress does not happen by accident and progress can be rolled back as well. We need to remember that always. We need to keep pushing forward with progress.”
“For many, HIV is associated with the fear and uncertainty of the 1980s and 1990s, which many Senators have spoken about so eloquently today. We remember those years and the people who were lost during the AIDS epidemic. We remember the partners, families, friends and carers who stood by their loved ones through extraordinary hardship, often at a time when stigma and silence compounded their suffering. I want to remember some people in particular who led out the response in Ireland at the time, including Christopher Robson, Bill Foley, Ciaran McKinney and Mick Quinlan, among many others. I cannot name all of them.”
“I welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the presence earlier of the Minister for Health and her officials for statements on Irish AIDS Day. I was really pleased to put in a request to have this discussed in the Seanad. I thank the Seanad Office for facilitating this. I had met representatives of the HIV Prevention Alliance in relation to this matter and they asked me what I could do. One thing was to have a debate and statements because raising awareness is important. It is important that those of all parties and none speak out on this issue and on sexual health in general in this country. Today is an opportunity to remember those we have lost, to stand with those living with a HIV diagnosis and to reflect on the progress Ireland has made and the challenges that still remain.”
“We have statements to mark Irish AIDS Day which took place two days ago. I welcome the guests in the Gallery. We have a number of guests who are working in this area, namely, Oisín O'Reilly, CEO of Outhouse in Dublin, and Davy Quinlivan from HIV Ireland. I also welcome Eddie McGuinness and Karl Hayden, who are campaigners and also represent Labour LGBTQ+. We have a number of other guests in the Gallery as well. They are very welcome. I welcome the Minister for Health and I invite her to make her opening remarks.”
“I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, to delete lines 22 to 26 and substitute the following: “(4) A designation order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and the order shall not have effect until a resolution approving it has been passed by each such House.”.”
“It seems to be at the full discretion of the Minister. We believe this is a democratic deficit. The Minister might outline a process he envisions here today but there is nothing on the face of the Bill to stop a future Minister designating any number of projects as critical under his or her own arbitrary opinion. We are proposing this amendment to try to correct that and to provide some modicum of democratic oversight on those decisions. We really need to make sure there is adequate legislative oversight of the designation of projects as critical infrastructure.”
“3 proposes: A designation order shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and the order shall not have effect until a resolution approving it has been passed by each such House. This amendment would require that a Government order designating a project as critical infrastructure be approved in advance by a resolution of both Houses. This Bill opts for the negative resolution rather than the positive resolution procedures such that an order has effect unless it is annulled by the Dáil within 21 sitting days. The reason the Labour Party is bringing forward this amendment is to make sure there is proper legislative oversight of how the Bill is applied. This Bill grants an awful lot of power to the Minister. The statutory threshold for what will be counted as critical infrastructure is not clear.”
“I want to speak to amendment No. 3. I will make some general points on the legislation. The Labour Party voted against this Bill in the Dáil. We agree that action is needed to tackle the infrastructure deficit in this country but we believe the Government has misdiagnosed the problem. This Bill would allow the Government to designate specific projects as critical infrastructure and thereby instruct public bodies to prioritise them and co-ordinate with other public bodies to deliver them. However, we strongly object to section 7 of the Bill, which would disapply the public body duty under the climate action Acts to perform public functions consistent with achieving the State's climate goals. We believe this would amount to repealing that duty by stealth and it would almost certainly be open to constitutional challenge. Amendment No.”
“What it would avoid is the awarding of damages in cases where a private investor objects to the provisions of a law that has been passed by the Oireachtas and which has been upheld by the Supreme Court. It would also protect decisions of the Supreme Court itself from such awards. I hope the Government can accept this amendment. It is an entirely reasonable effort to spell out exactly what is being proposed in this Bill rather than asking this House to pass a Bill that leaves vital concepts completely undefined. As we have said, we in the Labour Party are opposed to investor courts and opposed to this Bill but at the very least, we should be clear about what guardrails we can propose as part of this Bill.”
“It would specify that such an award would compromise the constitutional order of the State and therefore be unenforceable if it would expose the State to damages arising from an Act of the Oireachtas, a Bill referred to the Supreme Court by the President or a Supreme Court decision. The language currently proposed in this section of the Bill is almost laughably vague. It simply states that an award is not and never was enforceable in the State if enforcing the award would compromise the constitutional order of the State or the autonomy of the legal order of the European Union but it leaves those ideas totally undefined. This amendment is an effort to define precisely what the compromising of the constitutional order of the State would involve.”
“The Minister of State said that the Opposition cannot handle the truth. I would ask him if he is dealing in the real world or auditioning for a role in the film "A Few Good Men". We can certainly handle the truth and we are exposing the truth here as part of this debate. That is what this amendment is about. We, here, in opposition are pro-EU. The Labour Party is pro the European Union and we are pro-trade that benefits Ireland. This amendment would further define the provision in section 25A(3) under which an award would be unenforceable if its enforcement would compromise the constitutional order of the State.”
“As I said, we would introduce a ban on no-fault evictions, increase the targets and meet the targets for social and affordable housing to at least 16,000 homes per year, overhaul second-hand acquisitions and the tenant in situ scheme to improve prevention, supply a State-led solution through a State construction company working with local authorities, and transform the Land Development Agency. Many of us in the Opposition have been proposing this for a long time now. There are solutions. I do not envy the Minister's task. Many of the issues were inherited by him but we absolutely need to address them. We need urgency around it because the country's future is at stake.”
“That needs to be addressed as part of this. The latest figures show a housing market that has been destroyed by Fianna Fáil's tried and tested policies, with rents increasing by more than 100% in the past decade and almost 50% since the Covid-19 pandemic. Those figures come before the devastating impact of the market reset mechanism is fully felt. That will allow landlords to reset rents to market rates between tenancies to bring about the return of double-digit rent increases and a return to economic evictions. One in four households entering homelessness in Dublin, for example, is coming directly from the private rental sector, driven by notices of termination and unaffordable rent. What would we in the Labour Party do differently?”
“What are we going to do when a whole generation of renting pensioners fall into homelessness? This is a ticking time bomb. It is already becoming a crisis in this country. We need to build at scale. The Labour Party is calling for an emergency three-year eviction ban. We need to end no-fault evictions. We need emergency protections for renters now. I would argue that we need a rent cap. A rent cap for student accommodation is vital. The Minister for further and higher education was before the House just the other day. We see colleges are bypassing the RPZ rules and increasing service charges to increase rents. There needs to be an intervention in that part of the market and more joined-up thinking between the Department of housing and other Departments, such as the Department of further and higher education.”
“Of course we need landlords in the market. I would argue that the Government opened the floodgates and let in the vulture funds. It has let in big investors and developers, who are buying up properties that people living in this country wish to buy. When we are trying to buy properties in this country, we are competing with big investors and developers. That is the position in which the Government has put the Irish people when it comes to trying to get on the property ladder. I have said this a million times before, but one of my biggest concerns at the minute, and it should be all of our concern, is that we cannot have a whole generation of people renting in the future when they are of pension age. People's pensions are already being eroded. There is already poverty in old age.”
“More needs to be done to get people out of renting. There was a record number of eviction notices for rental properties in Ireland in the first three months of the year. We said this was going to happen. It was predictable and preventable. The Minister said he made a seismic intervention in the rental sector. What he has done is make more people homeless. That is an absolute fact. It is recorded. The Residential Tenancies Board received 7,062 notices of termination in the first quarter of this year, up 50% from the same period last year and the highest quarterly figure since these data series began in 2022. By what measure is the Government succeeding in protecting renters? The data does not lie. The landlord's intention to sell the property was listed as the reason for the termination in 60% of the cases. We need good landlords.”
“Rental property prices across Cork city, for example, were three times the national average at the end of March this year. Rental prices there are 64% higher than pre-Covid levels and 110% higher than their Celtic tiger peak. The cost of living and the cost of renting is crucifying people in this country. I do not believe that this Government cares about renters. It has thrown renters to the wolves. The average cost of renting a two-bedroom apartment in Cork city is now €2,126 per month. The fastest growing cohort of people falling into homelessness in this country is single people. It is impossible for them. People on single incomes are really struggling. They are struggling to get onto the property ladder. There is very little support for them when it comes to buying their own properties.”
“The progress made is indefensible. It is crystal clear that the targets for house-building and social homes were not met last year. If it is so hard to be a landlord, why are one in five TDs landlords? Only eight Members of the Oireachtas are renting. There are 234 Members of the Oireachtas and only eight of them are renting, according to a survey in The Irish Times . The homeless figures are released every month. We know that the figures are much larger than what is reported in terms of hidden homelessness. More than 17,500 people are reported as homeless, 5,500 of whom are children. Poverty is skyrocketing in this country, which is supposed to be wealthy. Some 28% of children in this country are at risk of poverty when housing costs are taken into account.”
“We need to ensure it is reduced further during the lifetime of this Government. That was the commitment in the programme for Government. Students and families need clarity on that as well. It was the late great Niamh Bhreathnach who brought in free fees for third level in the 1990s. The Minister has an opportunity to have that moment as well.”
“Technological universities need to borrow, acquire land and build their own accommodation as part of this. It was very disappointing to see colleges, particularly UCC and DCU, trying to overcome the rent pressure zone legislation and caps by increasing service charges. We need to have a rent cap and we need to clamp down on this legislatively. The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, has a role in ensuring this is regulated. I will make one last comment as I know my time is out. The House knows my views on the student contribution fee. I would see this as an increase and not a cut on the previous year. It needs to be reduced further. I state on the record that Fine Gael Senators resolutely opposed that measure that was taken in the previous budget with the increase. They are on record in this House opposing that.”
“I do not think they can be classified as purpose-built student accommodation. We also need more protection under licensee agreements for those living in digs. A lot of those students are very vulnerable and international students cannot just go home on the weekend. They cannot just have Monday to Friday leases. Another issue I have been vocal on and have tried to champion since becoming a Senator is the sex-for-rent issue, which was mentioned here. We know that 5% of international students have seen ads for this or they have been directly propositioned. Again, this needs to be clamped down on. Legislation from the Minister for justice is proposed and the Bill is going through the Houses of the Oireachtas. We need to make sure this legislation is as strong as it possibly can be.”
“Students are paying €450 a week for studios. What we need is affordable and good quality accommodation. It is not luxury we are looking for. My colleague Deputy Eoghan Kenny has also raised this with the Minister in the Dáil. The Deputy quoted a figure that for every 13 students in Cork and Kerry, there only about ten beds available. There are 206 beds in Cork under a commencement notice, with planning for 1,700 more. We need to ensure, however, that more beds are made available. I also question part of the evaluation of the student accommodation strategy. Will the rent-a-room relief scheme be included in that in the number of beds that are made available? Will modular homes or sheds that are built in back gardens be counted in those figures if students are living in those? I think that is a cop out.”
“It has been the same every year for 15 years-plus and it will be the same again this year, unfortunately, during what should be a very exciting time for people when they are embarking on that journey. There is research on the shortfall of beds currently, and I would question whether the student accommodation strategy is ambitious enough in addressing that shortfall of beds. There is mixed messaging and a mixed reception to the strategy from student unions, students and colleges. The colleges have questions about the risk they might be undertaking financially in building student accommodation on campus. We cannot afford to wait ten years for action on this. Students in Cork face some of the highest rents in the country. We know there are students paying up to €330 a week for shared accommodation and for sharing bathrooms.”
“The president of the Munster Technological University is on record at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as saying that student housing is now the biggest barrier to access to college in Ireland. This is a significant statement. We know that people are commuting for hours every day. People are sleeping on couches and these numbers are not recorded. They are part of those hidden homelessness figures. We have a lot of overcrowding in student housing as well, and there is a need for more inspections of that. We have people who are considering deferring college because they cannot find somewhere to live. We can predict the headlines every September about the scramble for student accommodation.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It is great to have this discussion here on such an important issue as student accommodation. When we talk about student accommodation, this is part of the wider housing crisis, but it is not just about housing. It is about access to education in general, be it further education, apprenticeships or higher education. It is also a question of the cost of living and of student poverty. This is so important. I know I always say it but I was the president of the Union of Students of Ireland 11 years ago. This was an issue then and it is becoming even more of an issue now. We knew this was an issue then and I believe there was not enough forward planning and action put in place at the time. Now we are in the situation we are in.”
“A redress scheme is one thing, but being excluded time and time again is extremely traumatising for survivors. We absolutely need to ensure that they have proper health and housing supports. We should have the Minister in the Seanad soon so we can have a full debate on this.”
“There should be an immediate removal of the 180-day eligibility requirement for mother and baby homes in terms of the redress scheme. The Labour Party has said that anyone who has spent a minute in a mother and baby home or institution should be liable for full redress. We also need to ensure that all institutions operating within the network of mother and baby homes and county home institutions, including private nursing homes and other settings, should be included in this. It is really disappointing to see that there has been such a low uptake of redress schemes. This is because it has not been promoted properly by the Government, or through embassies and representatives abroad either. These people are being doubly traumatised as a result of this.”
“I congratulate the two new TDs, Daniel Ennis in Dublin Central and Seán Kyne, our former Seanad colleague and Leader, on their elections. Comhghairdeachas agus beir bua. I wish them both well in the future. Of course, we now look forward to a by-election in the Seanad. I also want to congratulate Glasheen Boys' School in Cork city, which won the Sciath na Scol hurling championship. We are very proud of them in our local community and I congratulate the boys, their teachers and coaches as well. I want to raise the issue of survivors of institutional abuse. I have just come from a briefing in Buswells Hotel on this. Survivors are calling for a number of actions, the first of which is a commitment to a meaningful redress package for those who were boarded out.”
“I think there is a real absence within this Government of voices that are really championing climate. This is really noticeable. We absolutely need to insist that this needs to be taken out of the Bill.”
“For that reason we strongly object to section 7 of this Bill, which would disapply the public body duty under the climate action Act to perform public functions consistent with achieving the State's climate goals. We have to be thinking long term here. The climate is something that will affect everybody on this island in the coming decades. We need to absolutely prioritise this. It is not clear where this proposal came from. It was not recommended in the Accelerating Infrastructure report, which was ambitious. It speaks glowingly of our commitment to climate targets. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the trap of thinking that we can prioritise either climate action or infrastructure delivery but not both. I think it is a really regressive step if this Government is deprioritising climate.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. The Labour Party voted against this Bill in the Dáil and we will be voting against it here in the Seanad. We will certainly be putting forward amendments to it, which we hope we can have a fulsome debate on. Ultimately, we agree unequivocally on the need to have urgent action to tackle the infrastructure deficit in this country. Ireland's infrastructure deficit is certainly what makes this rich country feel poor for far too many. Many people are suffering because of this but we cannot pit infrastructure delivery against climate responsibilities. We cannot throw climate responsibilities out the window because of this Bill.”
“This is really about long-term guarding against risk and protecting human rights, labour rights, environmental rights, health and our ability as public representatives to make decisions without fear or favour in relation to big businesses that may be seeking to sue in their own interests. We are therefore opposed to the Bill. Certainly from the Labour Party perspective, we are opposed to this. We have opposed it in the Dáil and will continue to oppose it in the Seanad.”
“Canadian foreign direct investment in Ireland is up by 131% since 2016, while Irish investment in Canada has also risen by 31%, so the agreement is working already. There is no need for investor courts. All they will achieve is to expose our country to risks and chill moves towards sensible regulation in both countries. Whom will this benefit? What benefit will this actually bring to the Irish people? I see this as having far more risks than it does public good for Ireland. We need to guard against any showboating when Irish politicians meet our fellow political representatives in Canada. This is not about trying to be the best girls or boys in the class for five minutes and then putting the Irish people at risk for decades and generations to come.”
“That is why we are opposed to the idea at the heart of this Bill that there is a need for these investor courts in a trade agreement between two mature democracies. Why is there any need to legislate for them here? I want to speak to a number of points about some of the amendments that were ruled out of order, just for the record. I know latitude was allowed for this, as the Leas-Chathaoirleach stated previously. In relation to amendment No. 1, which we tabled, what the Government is seeking to do is simply unnecessary. We have made the point again and again. CETA has been in operation for several years now. Canada-Ireland trade has nearly doubled since the introduction of CETA in 2017.”
“The first question is why EU and Canadian investors would not trust their own local courts. That is a very important question to ask. There is simply no reason to have such protection in jurisdictions with mature legal systems. We have discussed this at length during the Bill's passage. We know from experience that investor-state claims have the effect of inhibiting the ability of domestic governments to pass legislation addressing public concerns such as health, environmental protection, labour rights and human rights. Examples were cited earlier. We saw in Canada in 2013 Lone Pine Resources filing a damages claim worth 250 million Canadian dollars, or €161 million, under NAFTA against Canada over Quebec's moratorium on fracking. Investor-state claims have a regulatory chilling effect on governments, leaving them hamstrung.”
“From a Labour Party perspective, we have been clear throughout the passage of this Bill through the Oireachtas that we are opposed to trade agreements that include investment court systems and the potential to undermine social and environmental regulations. We recognise the importance of an outward-looking Ireland trading with the world, particularly in the midst of global uncertainty. As we have seen in recent years, and in the face of tariffs, war and other disruption, trade agreements with the wider world are important, but we need to recognise the fact that CETA has been successfully implemented on a provisional basis for years now without the investor courts, which are a one-way system, in that states cannot sue companies in investor-state arbitrations.”
“I think there is a lack of awareness around it among the public as regards the risks it poses, not just for the present, but for the future in terms of how it could affect our country on a number of different issues, including the environment, the economy, our rights and political decision-making. I want to speak to section 2, which I am opposing. Section 2 inserts a numbered reference to the new section 25A, which will be inserted into the Arbitration Act 2010 under section 4 of this Bill. We are opposed to all sections of the Bill and have tabled separate amendments to oppose that section also. That new section 25A provides that awards made pursuant to CETA and the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement will be enforceable in Ireland in the same manner as a judgment or an order of the High Court.”
“In that time there has been a 98% increase in trade between Ireland and Canada. Canadian-Irish relationships are extremely important. I have a sister living in Canada and had the pleasure of visiting there last year. It is important that we keep these relationships intact and build on them. However, this Bill has nothing to do with that. We are opposed to the Bill because it exposes Ireland to needless risks through the investor court system. Who is this Bill for? Who has been lobbying for the Bill? The correspondence I have received from ordinary members of the Irish public, ordinary Irish citizens, has been completely opposed to this Bill. Where, then, is the lobbying coming from in relation to this? Where is the pressure coming from? Is it just big business that is lobbying for this? Where is the need for it coming from?”
“I thank the Cathaoirleach. It is important to welcome the Cork guests in the Gallery, and Deputy McGrath. I welcome the Minister of State. I want to state unequivocally that I am opposed to this legislation. The Labour Party is opposed to this Bill. As has been mentioned, a number of our amendments have been ruled out of order. We got notification of that quite late. It is important to have it read into the record later as to why those amendments were ruled out of order. We are well aware of how important good trading relationships are for Ireland at the moment and in the future. Certainly, the Labour Party is a pro-trade party. This is not about being anti-trade. In regard to Canada, for example, we have good trading relationships already. The trade deal has been operating for several years without these courts.”
“I offer heartfelt congratulations to Togher Girls National School, which recently won the Sciath na Scol camogie competition. I had the pleasure of meeting the girls at the school in Cork recently with Councillor Ciara O'Connor. I met the girls, the teachers and the school community. I congratulate them all and their coaches on a really significant and uplifting win for the school and for the whole community. Today I want to thank the guests in the Gallery. Ms Cleo Morrison, graduate of University College Cork, is on work placement with me. I also thank Ms Ira Jai Singh who is on a transition year work placement from Lehenagh More in Cork city. We are delighted to have them here today.”