Taoiseach says Ceta ruling shows referendum not required to ratify trade deal

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said a Supreme Court ruling on a key trade deal between Europe and Canada has shown that a referendum will not be required in order to ratify the act.

The Supreme Court on Friday ruled the State’s proposed ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) between the EU and Canada is unconstitutional as Irish law now stands.

[ Ireland’s proposed ratification of EU-Canada trade deal unconstitutional as Irish law stands, Supreme Court rules ]

A six-to-one majority said, however, that the deal could be ratified without breaching the Constitution if certain amendments to the Arbitration Act were effected.

Commenting on the ruling, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said “the preliminary assessment is that a referendum will not be required, and amendment to domestic legislation will suffice”.

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The Fianna Fáil leader said the provisional introduction of Ceta several years ago had been “very beneficial for Irish companies” in increasing trade with Canada.

“There is a point of law that has been adjudicated on by the Supreme Court and the Government will respond to that,” he said. The challenge was taken by Green Party TD Patrick Costello. On Friday, Mr Costello called for a referendum on the matter.

“If we are giving up some of our sovereignty, if we are giving away some of our courts powers, that is something we should be asking our people, not just doing by way of legislation,” he said.

Rebel Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan also called for a referendum and objected to the idea that the Government could introduce new legislation addressing the parts of the deal the Supreme Court objected.

“Considering it has currently been found to be unconstitutional it would effectively be circumventing the Constitution to do that,” she said. “The right thing to do would be to put it to the people in a referendum”.

The government’s preference, however, is to legislate rather than hold a referendum. Mr Martin said: “The Green Party themselves have said they will be giving this judgment full assessment ... Like many issues across Government we will work through this,” he said.

“The creation of further access to other markets is beneficial, we need to be clear about that as a basic idea, others might disagree,” he said.

“Why would people be opposed to a free-trade agreement with Canada, can someone answer that for me? Why the desire to undermine that?” he said.

Mr Martin said he supported Mr Costello’s right to bring the case and seek legal clarification from the courts.

He added the Supreme Court judgment was not a ruling “on free trade”, but “the mechanisms by which such agreements are ratified”.

Mr Martin was speaking in Blackpool after a two-day summit meeting of the British-Irish Council.

Mr Costello, and Ms Hourigan are outside the parliamentary party having voted against the Government on a vote linked to a row over the location of the National Maternity Hospital.

The judgment outlined that certain amendments of the Arbitration Act would permit the ratification of the deal without breaching the Constitution. Senior Government sources were immediately cool on the prospect of what one said would be an “unnecessary” referendum which would be costly, time-consuming and risky, instead putting an emphasis on the potential for a legislative solution through amendments as indicated by the Supreme Court.

Mr Costello said he was “delighted” with the result, with an important takeaway being that the Dáil cannot ratify Ceta as the law currently stands.

“Ceta and the investor courts, I believe, are a real threat to the Irish Government’s ability to bring progressive legislation in terms of the environment, worker’s rights, housing, and a huge range of areas,” he said.

“For the court to say clearly today that these investor courts infringe on our own court’s sovereignty and independence and function is a really strong powerful statement,” he added.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar noted the decision and said it was “disappointing that ratification is not now immediately possible”.

He said the Government however remains committed to ratifying it in full. “It will now take some time to reflect on the wider decision and consider its implications. Our initial assessment is that a referendum is not required and that ratification can follow once some changes are made to domestic law.”

Dara Calleary, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, said business links between Ireland and Canada were “deep and extensive”.

“Government will reflect on the decision today and consider the next steps on how best to proceed and to reassure our Canadian partners that Ireland remains very much an advocate for free, fair and open trade.”

A spokesman for the Green Party said: “The Supreme Court has found that Patrick Costello raised an important point of law regarding the ratification of Ceta. We recognise his contribution in taking the case and look forward to reading the judgment in full and reflecting on its detail.”

Jennifer Whitmore, the Social Democrats environment spokeswoman, welcomed the decision saying it was a “hugely significant decision – and a vindication for those who had serious concerns about the government’s attempts to ram ratification of this deal through the Dáil.

“It is worth recalling that the Government previously attempted to rush through ratification of this hugely complex deal after just a 55-minute Dáil debate in December 2020. That cynical effort only failed because it prompted such a huge public outcry.”