Joan Burton
Question:1. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee C, European Union, including Brexit, last met. [40344/17]
Ceisteanna - Questions
Cabinet Committee Meetings
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:2. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee C, European Union, including Brexit, will be meeting. [40545/17]
Michael Moynihan
Question:3. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee C, European Union, including Brexit, last met. [40542/17]
Seán Haughey
Question:4. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Taoiseach if he will report on Cabinet Committee C, European Union, including Brexit; and when it last met. [41385/17]
Gerry Adams
Question:5. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach when Cabinet Committee C, European Union, including Brexit, last met; and when it is scheduled to meet again. [41491/17]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5 together.
As outlined to the House in July, the Government agreed a new streamlined Cabinet committee structure and approved the establishment of six new committees, one of which is Cabinet Committee C. This Cabinet committee will cover issues relating to the European Union and will assist the Government in its ongoing consideration of Brexit. Cabinet Committee C will also support the Taoiseach's participation as a member of the European Council. The Cabinet committee, which I chair, met on 11 September. The date of the next meeting of Cabinet Committee C has not yet been confirmed. However, we will have a special Cabinet meeting next week to discuss Brexit given the upcoming European Council meeting the following week.
Preparing for and dealing with Brexit in a way that delivers the best possible outcome for the country remains a top priority for the Government. Its potential consequences cut across very many areas of our national and economic life and it is being dealt with in a whole-of-Government way, including through Cabinet Committee C, as well as at Cabinet itself and last week at the all-island civic dialogue. Issues affecting the island of Ireland are being given priority and considerable attention by the EU task force led by Michel Barnier and by our EU partners. They share fully our concerns and approach and are working to ensure that progress is made on the Irish issues in the negotiations with the UK.
Has the Taoiseach or anybody in the Cabinet in respect of the Cabinet committee commissioned a risk analysis and a jobs impact study on the likely impact of Brexit on jobs in Ireland and the impact of Brexit on Northern Ireland? I was concerned, and I would like to know whether the Taoiseach was concerned, by weekend reports in some Sunday newspapers. For example, a survey of staff in the European Medicines Agency in London showed that Dublin ranked seventh in terms of being a preferred city for the agency to move to. Dublin ranked well below Amsterdam, Barcelona, Vienna, Milan and Copenhagen. I think the report appeared in The Sunday Times. Does this concern the Taoiseach? The report said that 45% of the staff were reluctant to move to Dublin. Most workers and professionals in large European cities expect to have public transport. In respect of the Taoiseach's leadership role on this committee, what has he asked the committee to do to protect Irish interests and jobs and our share of European agencies?
Given that there are five questioners, perhaps we will take the questions first if Members are amenable and then come back.
Will the committee discuss, and does the Taoiseach propose that it discuss in advance of the European Council, issuing as a State an unequivocal condemnation of the Spanish state and Mariano Rajoy for the brutal and violent suppression of a democratic exercise in self-determination by the people of Catalonia? Article 1 of the UN Charter and all international law clearly defines self-determination. It is the right of people to "freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development." That right has been violently suppressed by the Spanish state. While there has been some mealy-mouthed criticism of violence in general, there has been no straightforward condemnation, and there should be, by the Government and European leaders of the brutal suppression of a democratic exercise in the right to self-determination.
That is at stake. We would not accept if the British state stated people in England or Wales had the right to determine whether Scottish people had independence, yet comments made by the Taoiseach and other European leaders appear to stand over the right of the centralised Spanish state to suppress the right of the people of Catalonia to self-determination. It is shocking in its hypocrisy for the European Union that goes on and on about its commitment to human rights to stand idly by while the Spanish state uses the most savage means to crush a democratic exercise in self-determination. Is the Taoiseach going to come out clearly and stand up for the right of people to democratically decide their own political future, while not taking sides on which way they should vote?
I call Deputy Micheál Martin who is speaking on behalf of Deputy Michael Moynihan.
Last week direct questions were put to the Taoiseach about Brexit, but he avoided answering them beyond vague generalities. I want to ask him a very simple but important question which I asked last week. Has he proposed to the British Government or European Union partners that Northern Ireland receive special economic status following Brexit? He has said he will not propose any border arrangement and seems to have delayed work by the Revenue Commissioners on the matter. What exactly does he propose? One media statement by the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, that the Border be moved to the Irish Sea was rejected by the North and does not appear to have been formally followed up. Once again, given that the Tory Government states it wants the United Kingdom to leave both the Single Market and the customs union, has the Taoiseach made specific proposals on the status of Northern Ireland?
Given that there was a summit last week, it is surprising that the Taoiseach did not make himself available in this House for statements either before or after the summit. While he did not make himself available here to talk about the summit, he managed to bring a party person with him to take videos of him on the Government jet and at a meeting at the Irish Embassy in Tallinn. These videos were first published on the Fine Gael website; clearly, therefore, they have no official status. Does the Taoiseach think this type of party politicisation of a Government event is acceptable? While his personal obsession with media management is clear, why did he decide to break from the practice of his predecessors and use formal European Union business for purely party political purposes? There is an important distinction to be made in the Taoiseach attending summit meetings on behalf of the people as head of Government, not as the leader of a mere political party.
Given that we do not have a designated Minister for Brexit, it is important that the Cabinet committee on the European Union meets regularly. On the EU summit in Tallinn, I note that it was agreed that the European Union would be a global leader in the digital economy and that the leaders were committed to finalising the digital Single Market within a year. Will the Taoiseach provide a progress report on the matter? It is an important aspect of the European Union's agenda and we need to know how Ireland is shaping up in the completion of the digital Single Market.
On the future of Europe, there have been three significant speeches recently, one by the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker; one by French President Emmanuel Macron and one by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel who supported the views of the French President. A vision for Europe is being set out. I would welcome the Taoiseach's views on how it is proceeding and how we will provide an input. Many are saying many things and the future of Europe is up for grabs. Ireland needs to be clear on where it stands in all of these debates. I know that momentum is building on the issue of corporate tax harmonisation, which is of concern to Ireland. Perhaps, in the Taoiseach's limited time here this afternoon, he might give us his views on the future of Europe, the vision outlined by the various leaders in the last few weeks and, in particular, where Ireland stands on these issues.
I also think the Cabinet committee on Brexit needs to meet more often. We look forward to hearing the outcome of the Taoiseach's special Cabinet meeting on the issue. He will know that today the European Parliament passed a significant resolution on the current state of the Brexit negotiations. It specifically states there has not been sufficient progress in the negotiations on citizens' rights, Ireland and the settlement of the British Government's financial obligations. It calls on the European Council, unless there is a breakthrough, not to move into discussions on new trade arrangements with Britain. It is clear from the resolution which was supported by Sinn Féin's four MEPs that the European Parliament believes Britain has refused to detail how it plans to resolve its financial settlement or divorce bill and how it plans to deal with the Border or the rights of European citizens. I was concerned about the positivity of some of the Taoisearch's remarks after his recent meeting with Prime Minister May. It was not anything he said but the effort to put a positive spin on what she had said when it was clear that what she had set out what was not sufficient and that, in particular, she was in breach of her obligations under the Good Friday Agreement. Does the Taoiseach accept the assertion, which is reaffirmed in the European Parliament resolution, that Britain must provide a solution that will ensure full compliance with the Good Friday Agreement? Does he also accept - he has not yet said this - that the North has to remain within the internal market and the customs union? We have been arguing for designated status for the North within the European Union, which is essentially what the people voted for; they voted against Brexit. It seems that the Government's position is to support special arrangements for the North outside the European Union, something which just would not work. Will the Taoiseach use the opportunity presented by the European Council meeting later this month to lobby for special status for the North within the European Union?
A number of risk analyses of job creation have been made by various bodies. They are of value, but the value is limited because we do not yet know what Brexit means. We do not know what the new trading relationship will be between the United Kingdom and the European Union. All the analyses can do is consider various potential scenarios and try to map out the impact they may have on job creation. They are of value, but it is, unfortunately, limited.
The Government is seeking the relocation here of the European Medicines Agency, EMA, and the European Banking Authority. We have put Ireland forward as a candidate country for these institutions and a further presentation will be made in Brussels this week. We have fallen down on the matter of video conferencing where the EMA is concerned, but we believe we can resolve that issue before the meeting. We are doing well overall on job creation. Today the unemployment rate is approximately 6.1%. We already have an EU agency located in Loughlinstown, Eurofound, with which Deputy Joan Burton will be familiar.
The events in Catalonia were discussed at the Cabinet meeting this morning. It is not intended to discuss the matter at the Cabinet sub-committee too. I answered questions about it in more detail earlier.
Not on the issue of self-determination specifically.
Please let the Taoiseach respond.
We have not proposed special economic status for the North because of-----
I did not hear that.
We have not proposed special economic status for the North because what we are proposing would not require it. Our proposition is that the trading relationship between the United Kingdom and Ireland should remain the same. I set out how this could be done in the speech I made in Belfast, first, in a long transition phase, second, through a customs union partnership which would still be a form of customs union between the United Kingdom and the European Union and also an EU-UK free trade area which would negate the need for a special zone. In accepting a special zone-----
That is if they-----
-----one accepts that there would be less trade or new barriers to trade. We have not given in yet.
It is not about us giving in but about the British coming to an arrangement with everybody else.
One only needs special arrangements after giving in on the possibility of free trade continuing.
The British might not do it.
The Deputy referred to a party person who I had brought with me to Tallinn. I am not sure to whom he is referring because I did not bring a party person with me. He might be referring to the Government Press Secretary, Mr. Nick Miller, who travelled to Tallinn. Historically, the Government Press Secretary has travelled with the Taoiseach ever since they have been appointed.
They do not do party work.
They have travelled with taoisigh to summits.
In terms of my video, it is 2017. People do videos fairly regularly now.
Sorry, they do departmental work.
It is the equivalent of where in the past, for example, a Taoiseach or Minister attending a summit would issue a press statement.
One does not party politicise Government officials.
Of course, their press officer would type up that press statement and then send it out. Things are a bit different now. One's press officer may take a video of the Taoiseach and one sends that out on the Internet instead. It negates the need to type up a printed statement, which is what would have been done in the past.
The Taoiseach is missing the point. One does not party politicise Government officials. One cannot do that. The practise has been dispensed with.
In terms of the future of Europe debate, I am familiar with Mr. Juncker's speech and President Macron's speech. All of these contributions are welcome. In the 36 seconds I have left, I am not in a position to outline my own thoughts on the future of Europe debate. Suffice to say that I think we should be engaged in it. Ireland is a founder member of the euro and a founder member of the Single Market. We took a decision a long time ago that our place was at the heart of Europe and in my view, we should stay there. When we approach this debate about future integration, we should always answer the question, not with what we are against or what we are going to try and block, but rather what we are for. There are lots of things we are for. For example, we are very much for the banking union and a capital markets union.
Are we for the self-determination of people?
We are for the proposals in Gothenburg on a social pillar. There are lots of things we will be in favour of, as the Deputy can imagine. We are for the completion of the digital Single Market, which was the purpose of the summit in Tallinn.
I understand what Deputy Adams is saying but from the way he speaks, he does not quite understand the situation. This is a negotiation. The Government of Ireland is not in a position to insist or make demands on anyone, whether it is the European Union as a whole or the United Kingdom. Making demands is a form of politics. It is not a form of negotiation. One can demand all one likes. It does not result in an outcome.
The Government is co-guarantor.
What we have to do is negotiate an outcome.
Does the Taoiseach understand his responsibility under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement? As a co-equal guarantor of that agreement, the Taoiseach actually can make demands on the British Government.
Perhaps the Taoiseach will refer to that in his next response because we are moving to Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive.
Diplomatic Representation
Micheál Martin
Question:6. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach if he will report his commitment to double the number of staff in Government agencies globally by 2025. [39662/17]
Gerry Adams
Question:7. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Ireland's Global Footprint 2025 plan, which intends to double the number of Government agency staff worldwide by 2025. [41493/17]
Micheál Martin
Question:8. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Taoiseach the way the Government plans to double Ireland's global footprint. [41641/17]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together.
While in Canada recently I announced a plan to double Ireland's global footprint by 2025.
Work is now under way, involving relevant Departments and agencies, to develop a fully worked-through plan for consideration by the Government later this year. The plan, which will take a strategic approach, will identify locations or areas that should be an immediate focus, as well as those which should be part of our medium-term plans to 2025.
It will also include consideration of the resource implications, including identifying where efficiencies can be achieved through innovative approaches and potential savings.
Increasing our global footprint will involve new and augmented diplomatic missions, as well as an increased presence and investment in and by tourism, cultural and food agencies.
There is a new self-confidence in Ireland, as an island at the centre of the world. That national self-confidence requires that we should be ambitious, visible and active in promoting our interests and values on the international stage.
This initiative will support our efforts to diversify and grow trade, particularly as we seek to overcome the challenges of Brexit; it will enhance our ability to attract tourism and investment to Ireland; it will help us to strengthen links with our diaspora; and to advance our values, interests, reputation and impact internationally.
I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. It is clear from the reply that this commitment was one of the Taoiseach's soft August stories designed to give the appearance of activity without doing anything concrete.
Since before the Brexit referendum, Fianna Fáil has been calling for a significant increase in overseas staff, both to overseas missions and to the enterprise agencies, including IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Bia and Fáilte Ireland. I have been of the view that we simply do not have enough staff on the ground. It is extraordinary that an announcement of this kind was made, for example, when a number of years ago the Embassy in Tehran was closed, along with that in the Vatican and others.
It seems from the Taoiseach's reply that his announcement was not based on any policy agreed by Cabinet. It was not based on any specific numbers or costs, or recruitment schedules or anything like that. It was essentially blurted out in Canada without any homework at all being done. What the Taoiseach seems to be indicating is the work has now begun well after the announcement.
I called last year for a detailed staffing audit and future plan. Has that audit been undertaken by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and, indeed, by the Taoiseach's own Department because I asked separately for a complete review of the Department of the Taoiseach and its needs in relation to Brexit? The Taoiseach will be aware that Deputy Donnelly, who has done a lot of good work on this, discovered through a series of probing parliamentary questions that most of the agencies had not even filled the additional staff allocations they had received in respect of Brexit and the staff had not been hired. It is that disconnect between the reality of what is happening in the here and now and the grandiose announcements that we will be doubling our global footprint some time in the distant future.
We need to get with delivery and executing what we have agreed in the immediate and short terms. That would give the people some confidence that propagandistic announcements that are made from time to time will be realised. People are becoming cynical and sceptical about statements that in five years' time this will happen and in six years' time that will happen. We had all of that in terms of universal health insurance and other issues. Has the Taoiseach finished the review of the Department of the Taoiseach and what has he decided as a result of that particular review?
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach as ucht a chuid freagra.
The Ireland's Global Footprint 2025 plan is lacking in detail about its implementation. No one could argue with the intentions of the plan - attracting greater investment, boosting tourism and trade, building stronger links with the diaspora and increasing cultural exchanges. These are aims that Sinn Féin certainly supports. The notion of increased diplomatic and international agency services will increase the likelihood of delivery, but there is no timeframe that I am conscious of. Could the Taoiseach tell us what timeframe there may be? How will the increases in staff be divided between the diplomatic service and agencies, such as IDA Ireland and Fáilte Ireland? Has the Government reached any preliminary decision as to where new embassies might be opened?
Against this backdrop we have the shifting dynamics within the European Union and we have Brexit. The Taoiseach will have noted the French President's call recently for the need for increased and accelerated EU integration, tax harmonisation and further EU military co-operation. President Macron spoke about a two-tier Europe, a sovereign Europe with its own separate parliament for members of the eurozone who will have their own finance minister, and he wants a single EU corporate tax band. This is the federalist dream, but it also is flying directly in the face of the so-called guarantees that were secured by the Irish Government in the aftermath of the rejection of the Lisbon treaty in 2009. If the French President's plan comes to fruition there will be little need for an Ireland's Global Footprint 2025 plan. I ask the Taoiseach to give us more details on his Canadian statement? Also, what is the Taoiseach's view of what the French President has said and did he raise these issues at the EU digital summit in Estonia last week?
I suppose my question is probably a simpler one. I would like to know if expanding Ireland's footprint globally includes meeting our commitments on overseas development aid. This would require a very substantial uplift in the work that is being done by the Irish programme in a number of countries, particularly a number of very poor countries in Africa where the focus is to try and assist people, particularly women and children, many of whom are in extreme poverty. We gave an undertaking as a country a long time ago to a 0.7% of GDP commitment for overseas development aid. In this plan to expand our footprint, has the Taoiseach made any specific proposals that we would reach that commitment?
We are now falling behind for the good reason that the economy is expanding again but I assume it will not take five, ten or 15 years to reach the commitment. I ask the Taoiseach to give the House an indication of where overseas development aid and support for the work of organisations like Trócaire, whose representatives were in this House last week, actually fits in.
I can assure the Deputies that this is something to which I am very seriously committed. When I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport I had the opportunity to travel to all parts of the world promoting aviation and tourism in particular, as well as doing other work including general Government representation and IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland work, as part of that travel. I was always extraordinarily impressed by the quality of the staff we had on the ground, our diplomats and the people working for our agencies. It occurred to me that we needed a lot more of them and that it would be a good investment by our country to expand our diplomatic presence and the footprint of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland, Tourism Ireland, Bord Bia and our cultural agencies. Now that I hold the office of Taoiseach, I intend to do something about it and make it a reality. I did not set this out as an August story. It was first proposed back in May or June in a document which I published entitled, "Taking Ireland Forward". I expanded on it in the speech I made in Toronto in Canada and set the task to my Ministers, the line Ministers, to draw up that plan so that it can be agreed by Government and published by the end of the year.
The intention is, over the period 2018 to 2025, to double our global footprint. That does not necessarily mean a doubling of agencies, staff or budgets but, in the round, that is what it does mean - a doubling of our global presence. It will, of course, involve extra embassies but not necessarily a doubling of the exact number of embassies. In some countries we might expand the embassies, for example, while in other countries we may create-----
Can the Taoiseach give us a definition of doubling at some stage in this process?
That is exactly what it will do. That is what the document will detail but for example, in the case of our embassies, there are many ways that we can double our diplomatic presence. We could just open the exact same number of embassies again or, in some places, we might decide to build up the embassy. We have a lot of embassies that only have one or two members of staff where we might go to four, for example. In a lot of countries the staff are only able to cover the capital and very rarely get to other parts of the country and that is something I would like to see changed. We have already allocated funding for extra staff for IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia. The Deputy is correct in saying that there have been delays in recruiting same but they are being recruited. Indeed, just as I arrived in Canada, an additional Enterprise Ireland staff member had just been recruited.
The speech made by President Macron was, of course, discussed in Tallinn. The major topic of discussion on the Thursday night in Tallinn was the future of Europe and during that debate we discussed President Macron's vision for the future of Europe, Jean Claude Junker's state of the Union speech and the speech made by Prime Minister Theresa May in Florence. I am not in a position to go through in detail all of the suggestions that President Macron made but it is fair to say that I would agree with some and disagree with others. We will have time to go into that in more detail in the future.
This plan does not cover our international development aid commitments. It is not about that but we will need a separate plan in that area. I am familiar with Deputy Burton's excellent work as a former Minister of State with responsibility for that area in the 1990s. We are now very far behind in honouring the commitment to reach 0.7% of GNP or GNI*, as the case may be. I think we are at about 0.33% at the moment so we would need to double our budget, which would be an increase in overseas development aid spending of something like €600 million or €700 million per year, which is a lot of money. That is not the kind of thing we could do in a couple of years but I would certainly like us to set out a schedule as to how we might to do that in a realistic timeframe and then hold ourselves to account on an annual or biannual basis.
Overseas Visits
Joan Burton
Question:9. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Justin Trudeau. [40346/17]
Bríd Smith
Question:10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. [40414/17]
Gerry Adams
Question:11. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his engagement with the Prime Minister of Canada, Mr Justin Trudeau, on 20 August 2017. [41492/17]
Brendan Howlin
Question:12. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Canada and his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. [41632/17]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Question:13. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Canada. [41675/17]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together.
At the invitation of the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, I visited Canada between 19 and 23 August. The visit was an excellent opportunity to further deepen the very important economic and cultural links that exist between our two countries.
My visit commenced in Montréal with an official welcoming ceremony and a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister, during which we discussed the provisional implementation of CETA, which came into effect on 21 September.
Both of us recognise and welcome the benefits that this agreement will have for the Canadian and Irish economies, in terms of job creation and revenue for our taxpayers.
We discussed the latest developments on Brexit and Ireland’s priorities in the negotiations.
Prime Minister Trudeau updated me on the latest state of play with regards to the NAFTA renegotiations with the United States and Mexico. In the context of a wider conversation on health care, I updated the Prime Minister on plans to hold a constitutional referendum on the Eighth Amendment. We also discussed climate change and reaffirmed both our countries’ commitment to the Paris Agreement. Following our meeting, Prime Minister Trudeau and I walked together in the Fierté parade, where I also had the opportunity to meet informally with the Mayor of Montréal and the Premier of Quebec. I also met leaders and representatives of the Irish community in Montréal and the wider Quebec region before travelling to Toronto.
In Toronto I had a number of business engagements including a business breakfast event hosted by Enterprise Ireland, the Ireland Canada Chamber of Commerce and the Ireland Funds, which was attended by over 150 people. I also hosted a Tourism Ireland round table event with representatives of the travel industry and airlines and had a number of individual meetings with IDA Ireland and Enterprise Ireland client companies. During my visit, the IDA client company Toronto Dominion Bank announced an expansion of its European operations. The bank has chosen Dublin as its post-Brexit EU hub and I am glad to report that it will also establish a bond trading unit here.
At an Irish community reception hosted by Ambassador Kelly I had the opportunity to meet with political and community leaders and members of the Irish diaspora, including representatives of the Irish Canadian Immigration Centre.
Also in Toronto, I had the pleasure of attending a ceremony to mark the start of construction of the new Dr. George Robert Grasett Park, which will be a memorial to the medical staff who gave their lives to aid Irish Famine victims in the 1840s.
I also travelled to the US-Canada border where I was briefed on customs arrangements there. While they employ a range of mechanisms to ensure smooth and efficient customs processing, it was patently clear to me that this was not a satisfactory model for border arrangements - if any - on this island after Brexit.
Finally, I also had a number of international media engagements.
Overall, my visit to Canada was extremely positive and an excellent opportunity to further develop the strong links between our two countries.
During his meetings in Canada or subsequently, has the Taoiseach had discussions with Prime Minister Trudeau about the very worrying action by the United States of America in the context of the dispute between Boeing and the Canadian firm, Bombardier, and the imminent threat it poses to thousands of jobs in the North? We have been talking about Brexit, on and off, over a very long period of time. All of us are concerned about the huge threat to jobs that it poses, particularly in the North. The imposition by the US of a 219% tariff on Bombardier in the context of its ongoing dispute with Boeing is probably the worst possible example of what the free trade regime might look like in the context of a total British exit from the EU, particularly with regard to Northern Ireland.
I know the Taoiseach has expressed his friendship to the Canadian Prime Minister both here and in Canada. The Boeing, Bombardier issue was well flagged at the time of the Taoiseach's visit to Canada. Did he, during his meetings with the Prime Minister, have a specific opportunity to discuss it with Mr. Trudeau or did he phone him to discuss it subsequently? In terms of jobs in Belfast, this is probably the greatest imminent threat we have seen to high level, industrial jobs. While most of the jobs are male jobs, they are in the Belfast area. They are high level engineering and technical jobs in the factories involved.
It is a good thing that CETA was discussed by the Taoiseach and the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, in August but it is a great pity that the CETA deal has not been debated in the Dáil. The Taoiseach must be well aware of the concern among farmers, workers and small and medium-sized indigenous companies over the implications of the CETA deal, which has been provisionally in force since 21 September. Sinn Féin has repeatedly expressed concerns over the negative impact it could have and on the unconstitutionality of the investment court system included in it. The European Court of Justice has been absolutely clear in its pronouncements that this deal must be ratified by all EU parliaments before it can come into force. That has been sidestepped and that is worrying. It is a departure from the democratic norm and it is reprehensible for a deal of this magnitude to come into force without even a debate in the Dáil, let alone a vote. It is a case of implementing legislation first and debating it later. Will the Government agree to a date for CETA to be debated and voted on in this House?
It is quite disgraceful that a free trade deal that could have very adverse impacts for huge numbers of people in agriculture, for workers' rights and for the environment, but which will further bolster the position of big multinationals to sue a state that interferes with its right to profits, will be provisionally applied by the Government without a debate or a vote in the Dáil. It is outrageous.
When asked about it during his visit to Canada, the Taoiseach confirmed that the invitation to Donald Trump to visit this country would stand. I am amazed at this. The Taoiseach said he and the Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, discussed their commitment to climate change but here we have an American President who wants to sabotage international efforts in this area. He does not give a damn what anybody thinks about it. In a terrifying development, he recently talked about the possibility of the United States totally destroying North Korea. This is the man in command of the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world. I need not mention his racist travel ban and all the other vile stuff he promised he would do and is now doing. Is the Taoiseach seriously going to invite this man to Ireland? If so, how advanced are the plans? Have there been active discussions with the White House or US officials about when this visit might take place? I appeal to the Taoiseach not to invite a man who is a dangerous threat to the world on a number of levels.
When we discussed the visit of Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, to Ireland the Taoiseach did not mention a return visit. Can we assume it was something that was organised relatively late for such meetings? Instead of a multiday visit, the focus this time was on existing trading companies and links rather than on opening new ones. Why was that the case? It is surprising, given the potential opportunities under the new trading agreement. I support the CETA trade agreement. There was a debate in this House, instigated by the Fianna Fáil Party in Private Members' time. It opens up opportunities for additional jobs and greater exports from small to medium-sized companies, as well as multinationals which employ thousands. It also offers opportunities for farming, although some challenges as well, but across the board we are an exporting country and it never ceases to amaze me that there is such ongoing hostility in this Parliament to the idea of open free trade agreements. There may be issues within those but the instinct of previous speakers, in Sinn Féin and others, is to knock every single free trade agreement that is touted. These agreements are aligned to the economic best interests of the country because if we were to stay isolationist and inward looking we could not create jobs or prosperity. We must export over 90% of what we make to sustain ourselves as a nation. This visit would have been a very good opportunity to help many such companies avail of the potential of the CETA in a post-Brexit environment.
The Taoiseach visited the US-Canada border. Can he explain why he was looking at border options at all, having announced in Belfast that he had no intention of announcing new Border arrangements? Given the detailed work done by the all-party committee, might it not be a good idea to visit the Norway-European Union border to see an example of a border across which many people travel to work each day and where they have adopted quite advanced approaches to limiting the negative impacts of such a border?
Bombardier was mentioned in the meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr. Trudeau, but we did not have a detailed discussion on it because we did not know the outcome at that stage. We have, however, used our bilateral contacts with the United States in recent weeks to raise our concerns on behalf of Bombardier and the 4,000 staff in east Belfast, the men and women who work in the company. We will use whatever influence we have with the US authorities to ensure that those jobs are protected.
Deputy Martin is right that CETA was discussed in the Dáil on foot of a Fianna Fáil motion. If there was a vote, I think it was favourable, so the House has already democratically expressed a favourable view towards the agreement. Formal legal ratification was not required for provisional implementation, which has already happened. Provisional implementation is the most important thing because it involves over 90% of the tariffs being removed, which has now happened. Formal ratification, when it happens, will require a further vote. That will occur but it is not necessary at this stage.
No discussions have been held on the date or detail of a visit by President Trump to Ireland. I therefore cannot give a date or any further details.
I do not think the Taoiseach will be in a position to do that for quite some time.
I hope to have the opportunity to travel to the United States in March for the regular White House and Washington DC engagements and, as I did in the telephone call I had with the President a few months ago, I imagine we will discuss things on which we do not agree, such as climate change, multilateralism and free trade. I know Deputy Boyd Barrett and President Trump will be close allies on trade, both being protectionists.
I am an ally of Donald Trump on no issue.
As a free trader I do not have the same view as President Trump but I am sure we will have the opportunity to discuss things on which we differ, as well those on which we agree. It is just a matter of approach. My view is that relations with America are important - much more important than any President, Taoiseach, Government or Administration.
Are nuclear weapons not?
We must maintain close relations with the United States. The general approach I take towards other democratically elected leaders is to engage with them, which might be more successful than the alternative policy of the far left which is to shout them down and then ignore them. I just do not see how that approach could yield any positive results for the people who elect us.
I went to the US-Canada border out of interest. I wanted to see it at a time when everybody was talking about borders and I was not too far away. I went for my own education as much as anything else. On "Morning Ireland" I had heard somebody - maybe a former Brexit Minister in the UK - defending the idea of a technological, invisible or telepathic border. He specifically referred to the US-Canada border as a seamless, frictionless border so I wanted to see it. It is not a soft border. It is a hard border. Even though they have a free trade agreement, there are flags, border posts, dogs, guards and barriers and it is definitely not the kind of border I would like to see between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, or in the Irish Sea for that matter.
I do not think we should be building borders at all between Britain and Ireland.
That will be a new dimension.
I thank the Taoiseach, party leaders, deputy leaders and others for their contributions.