I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The Bill is being brought forward to amend the Arbitration Act 2010 in order to enable the ratification of international agreements concerned with the protection of investment, containing the European Union’s new investment dispute resolution regime. Before turning to the specific provisions in the Bill, it is important to outline the wider context of Ireland’s and the EU’s trade and investment policies. Trade and our trading relationships with partners around the world is a central feature of the Irish economic model. Ireland’s story is one of openness, that is, openness to the world, trade and new ideas and partnerships. Unlike nations whose wealth is rooted in vast natural resources or the legacies of conquest, Ireland’s prosperity comes from something different, namely, the talent of our people, our capacity for innovation, high-quality agricultural produce and an outward-facing economy that looks to the world rather than to itself. We are a small country with a global voice, a trusted partner known for being honest, principled and constructive. Our membership of the European Union is central to that story. It amplifies our voice, strengthens our influence and enables us to advocate for solutions that work for Ireland, Europe and the wider global economy. As a small, open economy, we have built a strong enterprise base, which is based on our exports and innovation. Our economic success has been built on our capacity to sell goods and services to the rest of the world. We have created the conditions within Ireland to support significant jobs growth. Since the action plan for jobs was first launched in 2012, over 1 million extra people are currently at work. This level of jobs growth is very significant and has also led to a very significant increase in our tax revenues, which in turn has allowed us to invest in vital public services, like our schools and our hospitals, and in so many other areas. A strong economy is essential to building a strong society. We cannot be complacent, however. The international environment, as we all know, is more volatile, more unpredictable and more transactional than at any time in recent decades. Through the EU, we have been part of an expanding network of free trade agreements that create those opportunities for exports and investment, support jobs and growth at home, and uphold EU standards in food safety, animal and plant health, and environmental protection. These agreements help promote EU values globally, from labour standards to human rights to climate action. Recent EU trade agreement negotiations have included dedicated chapters or stand-alone agreements providing for the protection of investment. As such, EU trade agreements include investment liberalisation commitments, which provide an important advantage to EU companies accessing third country markets. Investment protection provisions, including investment dispute resolution, are a logical complement of the liberalisation provisions. Together, investment liberalisation and protection ensure a business-friendly environment and provide a stable legal framework that encourages investment flows between the EU and third countries. One such agreement, which combines more open trading alongside investment protection provisions, is the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA. It is one of the most important trade agreements concluded by the EU in recent times and it has already proved enormously beneficial for citizens and businesses in the EU and in Canada, a country that has consistently shown that it shares the core values and beliefs of the EU. Ireland enjoys particularly strong political, economic and cultural ties with Canada, based on a shared history and a shared commitment to democracy, human rights and a rules-based international order. Canada has both an historical and a more recent Irish diaspora. Over 4.4 million Canadians - more than one in ten of the population - claim Irish ancestry, making Irish the third-largest ethnic group in Canada. When the Taoiseach was in Ottawa in September, he invited Prime Minister Carney, who is himself one of those Canadians with Irish heritage, to visit Ireland in 2026. We look forward to welcoming the Prime Minister next year and building on those economic, political and cultural connections. Under the Government’s Global Ireland strategy, we have significantly increased our diplomatic presence across Canada, and we continue to invest in partnerships at city, provincial and federal level. Canada is a key export market for Ireland, and an important focus for Ireland's new market diversification strategy. CETA has already contributed to a significant increase in Ireland’s bilateral trade in goods and services with Canada since its provisional application in 2017. That trade increased from €3.2 billion in 2016 to more than €10 billion in 2023, supporting thousands of jobs and benefiting large and small businesses and people the length and breadth of our country. A report on further deepening trade between Canada and Ireland was launched by the Taoiseach during his Ottawa visit. It shows significant potential for further trade and investment co-operation. The report points to the strength of the existing two-way economic relationship. Canadian companies employ more than 22,000 people in Ireland, while Irish companies employ more than 19,000 people in Canada. It also highlights the potential to increase traded goods between our two countries by €1.2 billion annually, a 34% rise, and to expand trade in services by almost €500 million, which is a significant increase on what has already been a substantial increase. Both countries have made known their desire to leverage opportunities to diversify export markets, with Canada aiming to double non-US exports in the next decade. There have been a number of claims made that we should not be concerned with ratifying CETA as the parts that provide for more open trading are already provisionally applied. Provisional application, however, is simply not the same as ratification. Provisional application is an important mechanism that allows companies and consumers to benefit from a trade agreement at an early stage, as the completion of national ratification procedures across all 27 member states can take a number of years. There are approximately 42 member state national and regional parliaments with democratic control over the ratification of agreements such as CETA that contain provisions beyond trade as defined by the EU treaties. The agreement in its entirety can only be fully applied once all internal processes are complete, and this stands for the trade components as it does for the investment protection parts of the agreement. It cannot be argued successfully that we have secured the trade aspects of the agreement and, therefore, do not need to ratify the agreement in full. The status of our ratification is regularly raised bilaterally by Canada, but also by the European Commission. The Bill also includes the EU-Chile advanced framework agreement. Bilateral relations between Ireland and Chile are excellent and have been strengthened significantly since the opening of the Irish Embassy in Santiago in 2019 as part of our Global Ireland programme. The delivery of commitments set out in Ireland’s first strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean is being supported. This was launched in 2022. There have been regular contacts between Irish and Chilean political leaders in recent years. Former President Higgins and President Borić met en marge of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, and the then Taoiseach Simon Harris met President Borić at the Ukraine Peace Summit in June 2024. Chilean deputy foreign minister Gloria de la Fuente visited Dublin in May 2025. Chile is one of South America's most stable and prosperous countries. It leads the Latin American region in human development, competitiveness, income per capita, and economic performance. In May 2010, Chile became the first South American nation to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. Chile is an essential actor in the world economy, supplying 27% of global copper as the number one supplier in the world, and 32% of lithium, making Chile the number two supplier in the world. It also has world-leading potential in renewable energy. At a combined €187 million of exports and imports, Ireland has a relatively modest level of trade in goods with Chile compared to our engagement with Canada, but Ireland’s goods exports to Chile have grown 24% over the period 2014 to 2024, and reached €100 million in 2024. Medical and pharmaceutical products constitute 45% of Ireland’s total goods exports to Chile. Ireland’s import of goods from Chile has remained relatively static at a low level since 2014, with Ireland importing €86 million of goods from Chile in 2024. Unsurprisingly perhaps, wine remains the most important Chilean export to Ireland, followed by fruit and vegetables. Services exports to Chile have grown steadily over the past ten years, reaching €851 million in 2023. Business services, including operational leasing, constituted 77% of Irish trade in services to Chile. There are, of course, further opportunities for Irish companies to expand their footprint in Chile in Latin America, in particular in services linked to the digital economy, as well as in agritech. As Deputies are aware, in November 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in the Costello case by a narrow four to three majority that the Constitution precluded the Government and Dáil Eireann from ratifying CETA, as Irish law then stood. The Supreme Court also ruled by a six to one majority that the concerns identified by the previous majority could be cured if amendments were made to the Arbitration Act 2010. This is exactly why we are here today. The Costello judgment has, to date, prevented Ireland’s ratification of CETA and other mixed EU trade agreements containing similar investment dispute resolution provisions. The Supreme Court in the Costello case not only identified constitutional concerns that prevented the ratification of CETA as Irish law stood, but the majority also identified a legislative path for curing the concerns that had been identified. The Government has carefully considered the Supreme Court’s findings in the case and the legislation we are discussing here today is its response. The Bill will amend the Arbitration Act and introduce a procedure in Irish law for the enforcement of awards rendered by tribunals established under CETA and similar international agreements, which addresses the concerns identified by the Supreme Court in the Costello judgments and specifies applicable safeguards. This Bill has been drafted to ensure compliance with the Constitution and the international obligations that Ireland would assume upon ratification of the relevant international agreements. I draw to Deputies’ attention that passing this Bill does not ratify CETA nor the EU-Chile agreement, as these will require separate Government decisions and Dáil motions. However, by dealing with the constitutional concerns identified in the Costello judgments, enactment of this Bill is an essential step towards ratification of these agreements. Statutory instruments under the Bill will be required to prescribe other EU-third country agreements containing similar models of investment dispute resolution provisions, such as those with Vietnam, Singapore, and Mexico, before those agreements can also be ratified. It is important to emphasise at this stage that the investment dispute resolution provisions in this new generation of EU trade agreements differ significantly from the long-standing investor State dispute settlement system, ISDS, that is included in most bilateral investment treaties. Given that Ireland does not have any bilateral investment treaties, there are some misconceptions in how these tribunals operate. However, in light of the shortcomings that have been identified in cases brought under the old ISDS system, the EU and its member states have developed a new system of investment dispute resolution, which is embedded in the newer EU free trade and investment agreements. This new system introduces crucial reforms to address concerns raised regarding the ISDS and is intended to replace the old-style ad hoc arbitration model of ISDS with a new investment court system, ICS, contained in relevant EU trade agreements. I draw to the attention of Deputies that, to date, no cases have been decided under ICS as none of the trade agreements containing this new dispute resolution system have entered into force. The shortcomings attributed to the old ISDS system include a perception that the ad hoc tribunals provided under other forms of investment agreements and treaties lack predictability, legal certainty, transparency, independence and impartiality, and that there is a risk of regulatory chill, which is the reluctance to amend regulation for fear of being sued by an investor. To overcome these perceived shortcomings, the European Union and its member states put forward reforms addressing these concerns head on. The reforms include: standing two-tier tribunals established under each agreement as opposed to the ad hoc establishment of ISDS panels; cases randomly allocated so that the disputing parties do not know in advance which tribunal members will decide their case; strict rules on qualifications and independence for members of the tribunals, with detailed rules set out in a code of conduct and a procedure for disqualification; detailed transparency rules; and provisions to prevent abuses, including early dismissal of claims that are manifestly without legal merit will be included also. These are clear provisions preserving the parties’ right to regulate for public policy purposes. That means the right of the Irish Government and this House to take measures to achieve legitimate public policy objectives, for example, environmental protections, consumer rights or food safety. I cannot be clearer about this point. I understand that Members have been circulated with a copy of the Bill. This is a short and technical Bill that consists of five sections and, as noted, amends the Arbitration Act 2010. I will now go through the various sections. Section 1 is a standard definitions provision. Sections 2 and 3 of the Bill make technical amendments to the 2010 Act to reflect changes that will be effected by the present Bill. Section 3 provides for the amendment of section 23 of the Act to reflect the position that awards made pursuant to CETA, the EU-Chile agreement and any other agreement prescribed under this Bill may only be enforced in Ireland pursuant to that new section. Particular attention is drawn to section 4 of the Bill, which amends the Arbitration Act 2010 by inserting a new section 25A after section 25. The new section 25A has six subsections that will establish a new procedure for the enforcement of awards made under relevant international agreements in the State. Subsection (1) of the new section 25A provides that the section applies to CETA, the advanced framework agreement between the European Union and its member states of the one part and the Republic of Chile of the other part, and international agreements prescribed by ministerial order. Subsection (2) provides that awards made pursuant to an international agreement to which the section applies will be enforceable in the State by leave of the High Court in the same manner as a judgment or order of the High Court. This reflects the requirement in the relevant international agreements that “execution of the award shall be governed by the laws concerning the execution of judgments" or awards in force where the execution is sought. Subsection (2)(b)(ii) specifies that these awards are only enforceable in the State under section 25A. Subsection (3) declares, for the avoidance of doubt, that such an award is not, and never was, enforceable in the State if enforcing the award would compromise the constitutional order of the State or the autonomy of the legal order of the European Union. This subsection addresses the constitutional impediment identified in the Costello judgments and sets out a safeguard that complements the new enforcement procedure introduced at subsection (2). This subsection thus provides clarity on specific circumstances in which an award would not be enforceable in this jurisdiction. Subsection (4) provides that there is no appeal from the High Court to the Court of Appeal on any determination by the High Court in relation to an application to enforce an award, but that an appeal to the Supreme Court may be made if the Supreme Court accepts the appeal in accordance with Article 34.5.4° of the Constitution. Subsection (5) empowers the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to make orders prescribing certain international agreements concerned with the protection of investment as ones to which the new section 25A will apply. These agreements will be EU agreements with third countries that include similar investment protection provisions to those set out in CETA. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade must consult with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration before the making of such orders. Subsection (6) deals with parliamentary oversight and provides that every order made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade under subsection (5) must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made, and if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either the Dáil or Seanad within 21 days on which that House sits after the order is laid before it, the order will be annulled. Section 5 of the Bill is a standard provision and provides that the Act will come into operation on such day or days as the Minister orders after consultation with the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration. While this is a short and technical Bill, it is a necessary step to enable the State to ratify international agreements under the EU’s new investment protection regime. The Bill addresses the findings of the Supreme Court in the Costello case by creating a procedural safeguard that deals with the enforcement of such awards in Ireland. Enactment of this legislation will enable Ireland’s ratification of CETA, the EU-Chile agreement, as well as other EU-third country agreements with similar models of investment dispute resolution provisions, such as those with Vietnam, Singapore and Mexico. At a time when free trade and the benefits it has brought to the Irish economy are under increasing pressure, it is important to state that Ireland is seeking to ratify these trade agreements, which will provide our companies and exporters with new opportunities to expand and grow trade overseas, at the same time making sure that we do everything we can to support our industries and address issues where there are significant concerns as part of those agreements. Enactment of this legislation and the subsequent ratifications will equally be a very important signal to Ireland’s partners of our continuing commitment to multilateralism, to the international legal order and to the deepening our bilateral relationships. I know that it will be welcomed in particular by our friends in Canada and in Chile. I thank Deputies for their consideration and commend the Bill to the House.

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