Four Ceta motions going to Green Party policy council

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan: his constituency of Dublin Bay South has made their opposition to the controversial trade deal Ceta known. Picture:Gareth Chaney/Collins

Two-thirds of elected Green Party councillors have voted that the party should have a national convention on CETA.

Four CETA motions are going to the Green Party policy council this weekend, including one by the local government group of councillors, who needed a two-thirds majority in order to submit the motion.

The party has been divided this week over a government bill to pass the controversial CETA trade deal.

The free-trade agreement between Canada and the European Union was due to be ratified in the Dáil after a 55-minute debate on Tuesday.

The vote will now not go ahead until January after some Green TDs said they would not vote for it. The party has actively campaigned against Ceta since 2016.

If ratified, Ceta would allow corporations to sue the Irish State through an 'Investor Court System’ over regulatory decisions that negatively impact their profits, which could have negative consequences for climate legislation.

The motions, sent via email by outgoing policy chair Harry McEvansoneya, and seen by the Irish Examiner are:

• Motion from Local Government Group: That Executive Committee will call a Special National Convention on the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas Oireachtas Parliamentary Party proposal to vote in favour of ratification of Ceta.
• Emergency Motion from Just Transition Greens: The Green Party believes that granting investors exclusive rights outside of the normal courts system to sue countries is an affront to democracy, and contrary to Article 34.3 of the Irish Constitution. For this reason, the Green Party should not support the ratification of Ceta.
• Emergency Motion from Kildare Greens: Policy Council calls for a full debate to be held on the mechanisms for resolving disputes between investors and national governments, such as the Investor Court System, before any vote on the ratification of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is held in the Oireachtas.
• Emergency Motion from Dublin Bay South Greens: That the Green Party reiterates its existing policy of opposition to Ceta, is mindful of a current legal challenge to Ceta in Germany, is mindful that there is no immediate urgency to decide this issue in the Dáil, and therefore requests PP to ensure the postponement of the vote in the Dáil pending (a) full Oireachtas oversight, committee and debate (b) the playing out of some of the domestic debates in Germany, France and Italy, since we could learn a lot from them and some are constitutional challenges, and (c) further updates arising from the resolution of current legal challenges within the EU, including the regulation of energy markets.

As the Policy Council cannot itself call a Special National Convention, this motion, if passed, will be considered advisory to the Executive Committee, furthermore, the policy council cannot organise a debate mechanism beyond its own meetings, this motion, if passed, will also be considered advisory to the Executive Committee.

If five constituency group chairs sign up to a special convention request, the party must hold one. So far, two have made their opposition to Ceta known in the policy agenda: Kildare and Dublin Bay South, which is leader Eamon Ryan's constituency.

Party sources said ministers "don't seem to want to engage with the fact we have an existing policy" and "are worried enough that this could be close, and they don't want any debate taking place where the party hierarchy isn't seen to be on the same side as the environmentalists".

During the week, Green ministers sent an open letter to members telling them that Ceta must be ratified due to Brexit sensitivities, which TD Neasa Hourigan labelled "a nonsense".