Mercosur ratification
Deputy McNamara asked whether Mercosur and other trade deals should require ratification by national parliaments or referendums rather than being approved directly by the Commission. The Taoiseach said trade negotiations are a Commission function and argued for a balanced, pro-trade approach for Ireland.
I listened intently to the Taoiseach's response to Deputy Boyd Barrett yesterday when the Taoiseach said he did not believe every trade deal the European Commission engaged in should be put to a referendum. Does the Taoiseach believe Mercosur should have to be ratified by individual parliaments or by referendums, or does the Taoiseach believe the Commission should be able to ratify that directly without consultation with national capitals' parliaments?
Comment on this
The negotiation of trade deals is a Commission function and Parliament here can decide to ratify it, if it wishes, or not. We must have a balanced approach to this. I have not heard compelling arguments against free trade agreements, particularly from a country like Ireland, which is an open economy that exports 90% of its goods and services and creates thousands of jobs. The Canadian deal has been very beneficial but everyone is condemning it. Actually, it has been beneficial. There are 400 Enterprise Ireland client companies benefiting from the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, and many more companies are getting good access to the Canadian market, and vice versa. The Supreme Court has brought clarity to it and I believe we can deal with it. Obviously we must analyse the judgment.