Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Thomas Byrne (FF), Meath East

There is not a workaround of the new system. The Senator has acknowledged that it is a new system and that there are protections and changes made.
We have been clear that this Bill is putting in place a framework based on the new model, which is the basis of all the modern EU trade agreements that have investment protection dispute resolution commitments in them. It is the Government's clear position that this Bill and its order-making power will only apply to the approach in CETA and other similar agreements. We have been very clear that the attributes of the arbitration system present in CETA are what this Bill will apply. We have had changes, which apply in every single case and cannot be opted out of by the parties, in relation to the consistency and predictability of investor court decisions, the independence and impartiality of members of the tribunals, transparency and, substantively, as I have explained, the State's right to regulate. All those protections have been built into the investor courts system and they cannot be opted out of unless the State agrees to do so, and, presumably, the State would not agree to do so.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28