Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel

This is an interesting and important debate. I had the opportunity, along with Senator Stephenson, to visit Canada just before Christmas as part of a trade mission to Washington and Canada. We were in Canada for three nights, one in Toronto and two in Ottawa. I was blown away by the level of investment that already exists and the number of jobs that are dependent on trade between Ireland and Canada. This is fact. Ireland is the tenth largest investor in Canada. Canadian companies employ 22,000 people in Ireland and Irish companies employ 19,000 people in Canada. Two consulates have just been opened in Canada. That is for a particular reason. It is to support trade.
We met several members of the Canadian Government and Opposition who told us the gates were open for trade. They were keen for Ireland to complete the CETA agreement - it has been going on since 2017 - and felt there was a lot of potential and scope there. Given what is happening with relations with Canada's near neighbour, every indication we received was that the doors are wide open to extend trade to Ireland and the EU. As part of our trip, we also went to see Ireland Park in Toronto and the new cultural Ireland House, which will be an incredible space for Irish artists to go to. Therefore, we need to do everything we can to help to protect and preserve the 19,000 jobs in Irish companies in Canada and 22,000 jobs in Canadian companies in Ireland - with lots more in the pipeline - and to grow and promote more.

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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