On 19th July 2016 Senator Alice-Mary Higgins raised CETA in the Seanad and asked the Government to commit to Not Signing any agreement for provisional application of CETA at the EU Council of Ministers meeting in October.
There are many policy, regulatory, economic, environmental and employment concerns regarding CETA but Senator Alice-Mary Higgins focuses here on the need to uphold article 29.5.2 of the Irish Constitution which clearly states that "the state shall not bebound by any international agreement involving a charge upon public funds" unless agreed by the Dail. CETA and the introduction of ISDS courts would certainly be a charge on the state, indeed it could be seen as a blank cheque.
Senator Alice-Mary Higgins speaking at the opening of the 26th Seanad Éireann, about the global challenges the world is facing and the role of democratic institutions such as the Seanad in addressing those challenges.
Senator Higgins repeated her call for the restoration of tax relief for trade union subscriptions in a recent edition of Liberty newspaper.