Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025: Committee Stage (Resumed)
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I move amendment No. 27:
In page 4, to delete lines 24 to 31.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, after consultation, may by order prescribe an international agreement as an agreement to which the section applies. I do not agree with the idea that this Bill can, just by an order of the Minister, be made applicable to any agreement in the future. The concern is that this is the last opportunity colleagues will have to provide any scrutiny or analysis. This is particularly the case for the Seanad because it literally will not have another opportunity if trade agreements are only to be ratified by the Dáil. The idea that an arbitration order can be applied to any future agreement is seriously concerning and that is why I seek to remove the relevant lines.

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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