Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025: Report and Final Stages Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-09 ============================================================ Thomas Byrne (FF), Meath East I do not think I need to clarify this but when I spoke about it being too late I meant that if I agreed with the Opposition it would be too late to do what it wants to do. We would have done that earlier. I did not mean it was too late in the context of this legislation. Amendment No. 13 proposes to delete the order-making powers, as drafted, and introducing a new onerous system for making orders, including replacing the negative resolution requirements with a positive resolution requirement. Senators have raised questions about the order-making power. It might be of help to clarify the process that would be in place in relation to the ratification of international agreements, which this Bill does not do by the way, after the legislation enters into force. When Ireland intends to enter into a new international agreement, including agreements pertaining to investor dispute resolution provisions, an assessment is made as to whether any steps, including legislative steps, are required in order for Ireland to be in a position to give effect to the international obligations contained in that agreement. Where such steps are identified, they are taken before the ratification proceeds. This process is separate from the constitutional requirement for Dáil approval of international agreements that give rise to a charge on public funds. Ultimately, CETA will not come into force unless and until the Dáil approves it. In the context of any further international agreements, which include investment dispute resolution provisions, orders pursuant to the new section 25A will be made as part of the standard steps required prior to ratification of such agreements. Pursuant to the new section 25A(6), any order made under the new legislation must be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and each House will have an opportunity to pass a resolution annulling the order. The Seanad has a role there. If such a resolution annulling the order was passed by either by either the Dáil or the Seanad within 21 days, the order would be annulled. If the relevant agreement involves the charge on public funds, a Dáil motion would separately be required before ratification. It has already been determined that this would be the case in relation to CETA and the EU agreement with Chile, which are two agreements that are listed in the Bill. We expect that other similar agreements are also likely to require Dáil motions and thus provide further opportunity for scrutiny, including at the relevant committee. With the help of the Attorney General, the Government has carefully considered the Supreme Court's findings and this legislation sets out our response, including what are standard negative resolution provisions. The Government is of the view that this approach achieves the correct balance of legislative efficiency and parliamentary scrutiny. Secondary legislation must be consistent with and based on legislation adopted by the Oireachtas. If not, it can be overturned by the courts. The detailed and prescriptive approach specified in amendment No. 13 would make the process for making orders pursuant to this legislation closer to and in some cases more onerous even than new primary legislation. Therefore, I cannot agree to the amendment. Regarding amendment No. 14, as explained previously, the provisions of the order-making power have been drafted in close consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. Sustainable development policies and objectives have been mainstreamed into all EU policies in accordance with the UN 2030 agenda and its 17 sustainable development goals, the Paris Agreement on climate change and other multilateral agreements for the protection of the environment and labour standards. These multilateral agreements and conventions have become the global framework for international co-operation and action on sustainable development and serve as a compass for sustainable development commitments in EU trade agreements as well. All modern EU trade agreements already include trade and sustainable development chapters. These require parties to make continuous and sustained efforts towards the effective implementation of multilateral environmental agreements that they have ratified, including the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity. In 2022, the Commission identified policy priorities and key action points which further enhance the effectiveness of the engagement-based approach to trade and sustainable development, grounded in the international framework and standards with stronger implementation and enforcement. In particular, this enhanced approach includes the use of trade sanctions for breaches of core trade and sustainable development provisions. In addition to these environmental protections already contained in modern EU trade agreements, including CETA, in March of this year the CETA joint committee adopted the CETA interpretation on investment to clarify elements of investment provisions under CETA, notably investment and climate change. The parties reaffirmed their right to regulate within their territories to achieve legitimate policy objectives to protect the environment as set out in Article 8.9(1) of the agreement, including by taking measures to mitigate or combat climate change or to address its present or future consequences. When interpreting the provisions of chapter 8 investment of the agreement, the tribunal shall give due consideration to the commitments of the parties under multilateral environment agreements, including the Paris Agreement. In particular, the parties' rights and obligations under chapter 8 investment of the agreement should be interpreted in a manner that supports the ability of the parties to give effect to their respective commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopting and maintaining measures designed and applied to mitigate or combat climate change or address its present or future consequences. The matter has been covered in an extremely detailed fashion in the agreements already but, again, the more I read out, the less some Members believe what is actually written down in front of us. That is the unfortunate reality. I respect what everybody saying but I cannot agree to accept amendment No. 14. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-09/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:01+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-06-09