Patrick Costello was ridiculed for his Ceta stance — but who's laughing now?

Supreme Court ruling will exacerbate tensions between the Green TDs and other members of Government — but perhaps for the right reasons

Patrick Costello: Put himself at financial risk by taking the case to the Supreme Court. Picture: Collins Photos

A jubilant Patrick Costello stood outside the Supreme Court having, in a very bold move, taken on the Government that he is a part of, and which his Coalition colleagues ridiculed him for doing so.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta), a trade deal between the European Union and Canada, has created controversy within Government.

Back in 2020, when the Government tried to ratify the deal and push it through the Dáil, there was an outcry from Opposition TDs and some members of the Green Party who voiced concerns about the planned dispute resolution mechanism within the deal.

Costello said the Investor Courts System is a “real threat” to the Government’s ability to bring in “progressive legislation in terms of the environment, workers' rights, housing, rent control, and a huge range of areas.”

He pointed to a situation in Holland where a German energy company sued for compensation in relation to the Netherlands coal phase-out plans.

Imagine if tobacco had been able to sue Ireland when we introduced the smoking ban, as once pointed out by environmental campaigner Oisín Coghlan.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar had previously said that any delay would send out the wrong message on Ireland's commitment to trade.

Unconstitutional ruling

However, the Supreme Court ruled the deal is unconstitutional and the Government cannot ratify the European Union’s free trade deal with Canada unless the laws are changed, leaving the Government with a bloody nose and a red face.

When he announced he was taking the legal case against the State, Costello was savagely attacked by Government TDs and he was treated as a traitor.

Privately, TDs were mocking him and branded him as an embarrassment that a Government TD was taking a case against the Government ow which he was a part.

Some believed it was virtue signalling from Costello but Green TDs say the Ceta deal is linked to their climate ambition and how the investor court may hinder that.

Before Friday's ruling, Varadkar previously said he would find it very surprising if the courts found the deal to be unconstitutional.

Dig about legal costs

He also had a dig at Costello about the legal costs that could have occurred if there had been a different outcome in the courts.

He said he hoped that Costello didn’t impose on the Irish taxpayer the cost of the court cases and that the “decent thing” to do would be to cover the cost of the court cases himself rather than asking the “hard-pressed taxpayer to do it.”

The truth is, Costello put himself at great financial risk, he believed in his argument, and his family home may have been collateral damage if he had not won.

Taking that chance has proven that attempts to ram the deal through the Dáil back in 2020 was a sloppy move and showed a blatant disregard for due process.

Whatever about Varadkar’s argument about spending taxpayers' money, the public should be aware that numerous members of the Government said that this was not an issue, yet a court has found in favour of Costello.

The ruling will no doubt exacerbate tensions between Green TDs and other members of Government, but perhaps for the right reasons.