Joan Burton
Ceist:9. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr Justin Trudeau. [40346/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 3 October 2017
Ceisteanna (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
Bríd Smith
Ceist:10. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister. [40414/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Gerry Adams
Ceist: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]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Brendan Howlin
Ceist: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]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:13. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his visit to Canada. [41675/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (14 píosaí cainte)
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.