The Government came within a whisker of ratifying the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA. If it were not for the 100 civil society organisations, trade unions and Opposition parties rallying on Friday evening, CETA could have been passed today with just 55 minutes of debate and a simple vote in the Dáil without this House having any say in the matter at all. People power clearly worked to postpone the vote but the battle is far from over. There are some very serious questions to be answered by Green Party Ministers.

Why did they let this go on to the Dáil schedule with a mere 55-minute debate? Why, if the Government is so confident of the benefits of this deal, is it not happy to debate it? Why, if it is so cocksure of the protections included in CETA, is it running scared of having it discussed in the Dáil and Seanad? Why will it not conduct an assessment of the impact of the trade agreement? It is clear from this morning that there has been a Damascene conversion on the part of the Green Party leadership. The same cannot be said for the environmental NGOs, the human rights organisations and the environmental lawyers. The CETA trade deal has not changed since the leader of the Green Party was so vehemently against it. It still sets up a one-way corporate court system that involves a special tribunal that gives corporations special rights to sue states for laws, regulations and government measures that potentially affect their business. Corporate courts are a legacy of colonialism.

Hear, hear.

Anyone who has social justice and human rights values at their core cannot support corporate courts.

The former UN expert on human rights, Alfred-Maurice de Zayas, referred to corporate courts as an attack on the very essence of sovereignty and self-determination. Ireland has a thriving open economy. It has trading relationships all over the world. We have never had, nor have we ever needed, a corporate court system. Introducing such a court system now leaves us hugely exposed. We are told we are scaremongering about the corporate courts but even without these courts, we only have to look at the regulatory chill or impact of the threat of legal action. We have yet to roll out a smoky coal ban throughout the country because the coal companies threatened to sue the State. Imagine what it will be like when they will have a one-way court system they can go through to oppose public policy. Even if they do not win, the process of going to court to defend our right to make policy to protect our citizens will accrue huge costs to the State.

What is the impact of CETA on the programme for Government plans to ban fracked gas importations? What is its impact on the climate emergency Bill, passed by both Houses but yet to be implemented? Surely these concerns warrant a debate. Surely they deserve scrutiny at our Oireachtas committees. I call for the Deputy Leader of the House to confirm that, if there is to be a motion on the ratification of CETA, the House also be given an opportunity to debate it.