The Oireachtas committee on foreign affairs and trade has agreed to a request from the Tánaiste and foreign affairs minister, Simon Harris, to waive pre-legislative scrutiny on the Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2025.

The bill will amend the Arbitration Act 2010 to enable effect to be given in the State to investment protection agreements to which the State becomes a party.

The Supreme Court ruled in November 2022 that the EU–Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) could only be ratified if changes were made to the 2010 Act.

The central issue in the case was the agreement’s provision for the establishment of an investor tribunal with powers to make binding and enforceable awards which are unreviewable by national courts.

The EU and Canada have provisionally applied CETA since 2017 as the process of national ratification takes place across all member states.

Once passed, the bill will enable the ratification of CETA as well as other similar free trade agreements with third countries that include investment protection provisions, including Singapore, Vietnam, Chile and Mexico.

Mr Harris said yesterday: “I welcome the decision of the Oireachtas committee to grant the waiver of pre-legislative scrutiny which is timely given the developments over the last 24 hours in relation to EU and US trade.

“This decision now allows the government to move forward with the bill and I want to thank the committee chair, members, clerk and officials for dealing with this matter so efficiently.”

He added: “CETA opens the door to one of the world’s largest economies, giving Irish firms greater access to new opportunities. Irish businesses are already seeing the benefits, with our exports to Canada increasing fourfold and tariffs being slashed.

“This is about more trade, more jobs, and more stability for Ireland. At a time of uncertainty in global trade, this is what Ireland needs to secure our future.

“The provisional application of CETA has been the background to the increase in our bilateral trade in goods and services with Canada, which went from €3.2 billion in 2016 to more than €10 billion in 2023.

“Canada shares similar concerns and challenges in this regard and is a reliable and valued trading partner for Ireland.

“All of this is part of the overarching government strategy to control matters within our national control by way of policy changes which can make the Irish economy more competitive and resilient to economic shocks.

“In these uncertain times, we will continue to control the controllables in order to protect, preserve and sustain our hard-won economic progress in the years ahead.”