-----that we are sending our sons and daughters out to war. People now see that type of language is completely exposed. Sinn Féin members do not believe it themselves; they know it is not true. They are making it up. As for our people who are working in Brussels, they are doing incredibly important roles in terms of cybersecurity and all of the additions, such as looking after the maritime domain. We are very proud of our people who work in the EU institutions and other international institutions. Some work-----

We are not a member of NATO. I hate to break the news that we are not a member of NATO.

We are not a member of NATO. We are part of-----

Some Members did accept the invitation to go to visit some of our peacekeeping missions. I am very glad they did. I invite Members opposite to meet some of our military personnel abroad in the various institutions that they work with - the EU, the UN or indeed the Partnership for Peace. They can meet them and see the work they do and they will come out of that room extremely proud of what our Irish Defence Forces personnel are doing, not just in peacekeeping roles but also in international organisations.

It is the former Deputy, Brendan Griffin.

I thank colleagues who have contributed to the debate. We are witnessing in plain sight the persistent and ongoing human rights abuses that Palestinian people endure under occupation. We are witnessing an appalling and worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza. We are witnessing the deteriorating situation in the West Bank with massive expansion of settlements alongside rampant and escalating settler violence, all of which leads us to conclude that the actions of the current Israeli Government contravene internation…

I acknowledge the point made by Deputies in respect of the absence of services from the Bill but no political view, however well meaning, whether expressed on this side of the House or the opposite side, can trump the rule of law. We cannot trump the law.

At the European level, the Single Market is a lot less harmonised in respect of trade in services than it is for trade in goods. The regulation of services is split across a variety of EU legislation and there would be huge challenges regarding, as the Taoiseach has said, the effective implementation and enforcement of restrictions on trade in services. Again, on the issue of services and actions taken by the Spanish Government, there are some misunderstandings. Spain has not implemented a ban on trade in services,…

This is the only aspect of the Spanish legislation that relates to services. The focus of the Spanish legislation is on the prohibition of the importation of goods. National legislation being taken forward by other EU member states is similarly focused on goods. Again, I remind the House that Ireland was the first EU country to announce its intention to prohibit the importation of settlement goods and other EU member states have followed that lead. On the potential economic implications, the Oireachtas committee as…

I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade pursuant to Standing Orders 103(2)( b ) and 188(1).

Did the Senator call for an assembly on O'Connell Street, like 1916? Did we catch that right?

I will tell the Senator something-----

The Senator called for another Easter Rising.

The Vienna Convention.

At the outset, I will briefly return to first principles, because they are not as obvious as some make out, and the reasons behind this legislation. The Arbitration (Amendment) Bill seeks to put Ireland, a country which so greatly benefits from international trade, into a position where we can ratify the range of EU trade and investment agreements that we massively benefit from as an EU member state. It is not the case of international capital taking money from Ireland. If you look at our tax returns, it is the cas…

Dexcom. There are many examples in Galway, but also in all our of constituencies. These did not land on us too frequently before we joined the European Union. Yes, there were examples - there were pioneers who invested in this country and Irish pioneers who invested abroad - but with trade agreements, that is always easier to do now. On the subject of the investment dispute resolution, I have said it time and again that this is a brand new system. This is the investor court system, where many of the concerns raised…

I do not know what the reference to 1916 and a citizens' assembly on O'Connell Street was-----

I am happy to accept the record of the debate here today.

The decision handed down by the Supreme Court in the Costello case identified constitutional concerns that prevented the ratification of CETA, and that is Irish law. We accept what the Supreme Court has said; everybody in this House accepts that. However, we have heard in some of the debate people picking and choosing between the bits they like and do not like. The Government has no option but to take the decision of the court very seriously and to work, as we wanted to and as we committed to in the programme for G…

I am more than happy to. If there were a problem with the right to regulate in the way the Senator has described, although I am saying there is not, I would not be dealing with it here because it would be way too late. You need to deal with it in CETA. The argument I am making is that, on the basis of the very text of CETA, the interpretive statement made and the decisions of the European Court of Justice and, indeed, the Supreme Court, nobody saw an issue with the right to regulate. This is because of the language…