We are asked to vote to amend the Arbitration Act to ratify the investors court part of CETA. I am asking the TDs to stand with the people and with the Dáil's ability to make laws for Ireland and to vote against amending the Arbitration Act. We already have Irish and EU laws that protect companies and investors, and if these laws are good enough for the rest of us, including Irish businesses, it should be good enough for Canada and corporations. Ratifying CETA will remove the ability of Deputies to enact laws for the public good. It means that the laws to improve working conditions and pay, regulate energy prices or improve health and safety standards can be voted on by Canada's corporations in a secret court whose decision cannot be challenged. We saw what happens when we take away the ability of our local authorities to deal with planning laws and that power was given to the likes of this House. The power was taken from parties in local authorities to make decisions for counties where people were elected. The Government now wants to take power away from TDs in this House to enact Irish law. We saw what happened with Mercosur. Ciarán Mullooly MEP, from Independent Ireland, fought to make sure that rural Ireland was protected. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, which told farmers they were looking after them, made statements last week to say they were in favour of it. There is now a three-year extension. Does the Government not realise that the people in this country have their own voice? We have our own laws. The Government is supposed to be the protector of this country. That is where the problem lies. We gave away our sovereignty to somebody else to make decisions for us. We can now see where that is getting us. We send out people to Europe and they act like Noddy film characters from years ago, nodding up and down and saying, "Yes sir, no sir, three bags full sir". They are not representing this country. They are not representing rural Ireland or the farmers in this country. Why does the Government think so many people have left agriculture? It is because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael forced them out with regulations that were not made here but in Europe. We have the finest beef, milk and grass-fed cows in the world and the Government has closed that down. In this case, I will not vote for the legislation to be amended and I will stand with the people of Ireland to make sure that that does not happen. If the Government votes this in, on its head it will be.

Sentiment score: 0.18