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.
In response to President Trump’s executive order banning travel to the U.S.A. from seven Muslim-majority countries, Senator Higgins joined others in the Seanad in raising grave concerns about its legal and moral implications. She highlighted the need for urgent review of the preclearance agreement in effect at Irish airports to ensure Irish and international laws are upheld under the ban.
Senator Higgins repeated her call for the restoration of tax relief for trade union subscriptions in a recent edition of Liberty newspaper.