I have a final question. I do not need to come back because it was factual. Can the Minister confirm that there is nothing in the Bill that combines it with the investor court system?

I asked four yes-or-no questions.

I have asked the question. The question was, factually, that the investor court system is not specified in this legislation. Is it not the case that other investor-state dispute mechanisms may apply through this legislation? Yes or no. With respect, Chair, I asked a yes-or-no question. It was a very simple question. It is reasonable to ask that it be answered. In terms of expediency, as we move forward, I did not go on at length. It was simply yes or no. I am restating it because perhaps it slipped the mind of the …

I would like that question answered - yes or no. Is it not the case that there is no specification that it would be the ICS system, and we can come back on the merits or not of that? It simply mentions investor-state dispute mechanisms. The future agreements that may be attached to this may, indeed, contain different investor-state dispute mechanisms.

Yes.

Yes. It concerns investor dispute resolution provisions. That is all the language says. It does not say ICS. There could be any kind of investor-state dispute.

It is not going to be the case, or it cannot be the case under the law.

Based on what?

So it could be the case.

The answer is that it could be the case, but he does not expect it to be the case.

The answer is clearly that it could be the case. We do not know what will happen in the next chapter. What is clear from what the Minister of State has said is that it is not excluded, but that he does not anticipate it happening. Perhaps it would not be his personal preference.

I am asking if that can be contradicted by the Minister of State. I do not think it is the case. As the Minister of State tried to understand my question, I am trying to understand his answer.

But-----

The point is that things can change. They have changed in the past largely due to pressure from those members who opposed the old system, which did not include the Irish Government, I note. They have changed again, although not as far as we would like, but they can change back. This is a blank cheque. We do not know what kind of clauses or provisions may be in future trade agreements. We do not know what kind of investor-state dispute mechanisms there will be. We are being asked not just to move on CETA and on Chil…

I do not. In fact, I have said that the same grounds apply with a different dressing. In terms of puncturing this, I think it is important to say that this is an unknown that is part of the Bill.

I will report progress of a sort, but I hope we get to the amendments in the next part.

The first point that needs to be marked is that there is a big concern around the lack of pre-legislative scrutiny, which has begun to be a bit of a red flag, and then the guillotining of the Dáil debate on this Bill. Where this becomes particularly egregious is when we have legislation which is constraining the action and effect of our laws. This is part of a set of measures which we know will constrain the right of citizens to be part of politics. What I say when I want to encourage people to believe in politics …

I hear and share the frustration of many of those who have seen either the opportunism of insurance companies or the obstacles placed by insurance companies who do not want to insure us in a situation and sometimes the obfuscation by insurance companies as to reasons premiums are high. They constantly suggest this is solely to do with litigation, which I think does not stand up any more, clearly. There is frustration and it is felt by how hard it becomes just to do the things that make up our lives together: to hav…

In a way, the previous speaker has said everything and covered the matter in great detail. I hope that, with Ireland's Presidency this year, we will have real, detailed discussions that go past the simplified frames we sometimes hear about, such as the one about us all being proud Europeans. We are all proud Europeans and Ireland is proudly European, as citizen polls show. What needs to be considered, however, is that a majority of those citizens who support Europe and want to be part of it believe it is moving in …

I want to begin by quoting from an interview given by the director general of the International Red Cross, Mr. Pierre Krähenbühl, who was visiting Ireland this week. He stated: When we see the atrocities committed in Ukraine, Sudan, Yemen, Israel and Gaza, it’s understandable that public trust in the effectiveness of humanitarian law is shaken. It’s often breached, but when it’s respected, it saves lives ... That may seem insufficient – but it’s vital. Humanitarian law exists to remind us that we don’t need a catas…