There is increasing opposition to the Government's attempt to rush through the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, CETA, including several local authorities asking for Oireachtas scrutiny this week. One of the main objections is the creation of an investor court system which would allow corporations to sue the Government, bypassing domestic and EU courts.

Big tobacco has used this system in other countries to sue governments. If this investment court system were in place in 2004, big tobacco could have sued to prevent the passing of the smoking ban the Taoiseach brought in, which has helped to save thousands of lives. Why is the Government rushing to ratify CETA when it will threaten progressive legislation such as the smoking ban into the future?

We are not rushing through CETA. It has been in provisional operation for three years, since the Commission signed it, and it has been of considerable benefit to quite a number of Irish companies that export goods and services to Canada, which underpins jobs in Ireland. That dimension of the debate should be articulated a bit more publicly because it is getting no airing. As a country, we are an open indigenous economy that exports most of what we produce in both goods and services.

The investment court issue would not have stopped the smoking ban. It has been categorically established in the European Court of Justice that any public health initiative cannot be thwarted by such mechanisms in CETA. Climate agenda policies or any other public policy measures that a Government may wish to introduce cannot in any way be undermined by the provisions in CETA. That said, I have no issue with all aspects of this issue being aired in the House. I get the sense there is a glaring omission in the public debate around the importance to small and medium sized Irish companies which depend on exports to create jobs and an enterprise economy in this country. The debate on CETA seems very one-sided.