International agreements and guillotines
Deputy McNamara questioned how a future Taoiseach would handle international agreements, Mercosur and the use of guillotines on Bills. The Tánaiste said voting depends on legal advice and the nature of the agreement, and added that although he dislikes guillotines, sometimes they are necessary.
The Tánaiste has spoken about the problems with how this House does its business. He has also spoken about the benefits and frailties of Mercosur. I want to know how, when he is Taoiseach, the Tánaiste's Government will interact with this House. The current Taoiseach seems to have no problem with Mercosur being passed without a vote of this House or the people of Ireland. Important Bills are regularly guillotined. For example, on the Communications Regulation Bill from the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, amendments were introduced the evening before Committee Stage so that nobody could table amendments to them. I now believe this Bill, as it stands, will be guillotined through the House. The Bill has constitutional frailties but it would also potentially involve the payment of large amounts of compensation to multinationals in Ireland. The Dutch equivalent has acknowledged that compensation will inevitably be part of it. How will the Tánaiste - when he is Taoiseach - interact with this House? Will he give a guarantee that he will not guillotine Bills and that important trade agreements such as Mercosur will require at least a vote of the House, if not of the people?
Comment on this
That is a very open-ended question. I will interact with the House in different ways depending on circumstances. When it comes to any international agreement that depends on the advice of the Attorney General. If the Attorney General advises that an international agreement requires a vote in the House, then of course there would be vote in the House. Some agreements - and this applies to some trade agreements - are not a national competence and are decided at a European Union level. It will depend on the agreement whether it requires a vote of the House. In general, international agreements require a vote of the House but there may be instances where that is not the case.
I believe that the ratification of Mercosur by the European Union and, therefore, by Ireland is a remote prospect for the foreseeable future. There is a very strong view across the European Union, and one-----