TTIP – Bad Deal for Ireland, Bad Deal for the Public Good

The line from the Government is job, jobs, jobs from the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) . TTIP is about giving power to corporations and profit based organisations and will compromise the power of Governments to take decisions for the public good. Under the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) part of TTIP companies will have the right to sue Governments if they take decisions in the public good that will effect profitability or future profitability of the company; there will be no regard for people, only profit. We see how this has impacted on Germany and Canada, two countries who have had legal action taken against them by corporations connected to mining and fossil fuels due to the Governments taking decisions in the public good that- Under Investor State Dispute Settlement corporations whose sole aim is to make profit, will have the power to sue Governments who take decisions based on the public good that damage potential profitability, we saw a taste of this in Ireland with the Tobacco companies suing the Government over plain packaging, and that is only a taste of what could come if this deal is ratified by Europe. This is a deal that will also Impact greatly on farmers and workers in places such as Columbia and Bolivia in terms of workers rights and ability to make a living.I used my Leaders on this occasion to highlight the implications on Education in Ireland, a subject that is very close to my heart having been a secondary School teacher for over 30 years.