Letters to the Editor: Ceta tribunals would put profits above our children’s wellbeing

Recent ISDS suits have amounted to more than $1bn each and have been taken by fossil fuel and mining industries against countries that have endeavoured to make moves towards a more sustainable future. File Picture: Getty

The Religious Society of Friends in Ireland has great concern regarding the Ceta trade agreement. The ISDS (investor-state dispute settlement) element of the agreement would allow foreign investors to sue a nation state for amending legislation that would infringe on corporate profits.

The tribunals in which the ISDS process is adjudicated are private procedures, without any system of appeals, in which the potential lost profits are the central subject of focus.

The EU intends to update this process by making it public and calling it the investor court system (ICS).

In the ICS however, the tribunal can still be held in private if the investors insist, thus calling this a “court” is misleading. A court of law would balance the lost profits against the public good, but the ICS will not.

It is worth noting that 90% of the largest recent ISDS suits have amounted to more than $1bn each and have been taken by fossil fuel and mining industries against countries that have endeavoured to make moves towards a more sustainable future.

Quakers hold that we are all equal, and that sustainability and care for God’s creation is of vital importance for our common future. We view that the creation of a separate court system for corporations, where profits are seen to be more important than the wellbeing of a nation’s children, is incompatible with Christ’s teachings, and the ISDS element within international trade agreements is morally indefensible.

By contrast, we hold the vision for a better future that allows for the evolution of national legislation to help create a more equitable, sustainable, and beautiful world, where both trade and international cooperation are founded on a firm base of mutual respect and care. As such, we must drop the ISDS clause from Ceta and other international agreements.

Brían Ó Súilleabháin

EcoQuakers Ireland Committee

Quaker House

Stocking Lane

Dublin

No surprises in rise of feudal capitalism

One “surprising” aspect of the exclusion of even well-paid ordinary people from housing markets is the recently expressed “surprise” by politicians, economists, commentators, journalists, broadcasters and anyone who takes interest in such matters.

There should be no surprise — this is just another example of wealth segregation dividing privileged haves from dependent have-nots.

Corporate feudalism is taking hold on a global scale, and increasing numbers must either persuade politicians to do something about it or resign themselves to a future of dependent serfdom.

There have always been haves and have-nots, and there always will. Until this very time however, have-nots had, by virtue of the need for labour, the assurance of having a stake in economic activity, which gave them the opportunity to earn a living, miserable though it might have been.

Realistically it can be argued that life for the have-nots is not that bad at all; far better than it ever was for their ancestors and indeed better than the haves enjoyed slightly more than a generation ago. The great dilemma, however, is how people access a share of what really should be very good times.

Will large portions of future generations ever own anything? Will they earn income and have opportunity for commercial activity or be entirely dependent on a state/multinational handout and their level of credit rating? There is movement towards the latter, highlighted by recent lockdown intervention. Corporate giants, including hedge and cuckoo funds, increasingly gain control of sources of wealth and production, which will be located in the cheapest locations, while globalised online commercial activity undercuts local enterprise, which simply cannot compete.

Between 50,000 and 60,000 container ships continually move 5m to 6m containers around the world with cutthroat-priced product. It is hard to compete with such volume.

All recent consolidation of wealth, sources of output, and distribution combined with reducing employment is made possible by extraordinary advances of science and technology.

A modern type of corporate feudalism is being imposed.

In the Middle Ages, concentration was entirely in absolute ownership of land; in the 21st century it is being expanded to ownership of everything that produces wealth as an ascendency of hedge funds, multinational production, and global distribution takes over. Small and even medium-sized commercial enterprise is eased from economic activity with connivance and assistance of governments, who though elected to serve the populous, sets them up as sitting ducks for very predatory economic exploitation.

As democracy fails to protect increasing numbers of helpless people, extremist politics is raising its ugly head with potential to destroy what should be the best time ever experienced by the human race.

Padraic Neary

Tubbercurry

Co Sligo

Cannabis user deserves apology

I have to ask why a grandfather who had overcome an addiction to heroin and was choosing to consume cannabis to help with his medical condition deserves to be dragged through the courts, but also have his identity and address published in the media?

Equally, I have to question why a judge would use such stigmatising and degrading language when referring to Mr Lee, implying his cannabis consumption makes him “unclean” [As published in our May 16 report on this case, Judge John King said: “I would not consider community service until I know he is clean”.]

Would Judge John King be happy to label himself the same for drinking a sip of wine or some coffee, or taking a medicine to help him with an ailment?

We are all drug users. Drug use is normal adult behaviour. Cannabis prohibition needs to end immediately in Ireland.

Mr Lee should be issued an apology by the judge and his cases struck out, if not for the gross violation of his human rights (bodily integrity and right to privacy) but for the utter waste of taxpayer money in court costs.

Nicole Lonergan

Cork City

Recent case shows up our drugs laws

I am writing in response to your recent article titled “Man pleads guilty to €4 of cannabis”. This article sparked a number of online comments, all sharing their disappointment with the laws regarding cannabis in Ireland.

The man in question is a recovering heroin addict who refused to take opiate-based pain medication (due to fear of relapsing) and instead turned to natural remedies, such as CBD and cannabis.

Having a background in law and specialising in the criminalisation of cannabis consumers, I have seen first-hand the damage the criminal justice system can cause, and the impact it can have on not only the person involved, but also their family and the wider community.

The gentleman in the article, in my opinion, has made the correct decision for his pain and his recovery from addiction in refusing opiate-based medication, but our Government feels content in criminalising him.

There is a global movement towards legalising cannabis, with many countries legalising it for medical use or full legalisation of adult-use cannabis. This has led to increased revenue, with one US state, Colorado (which has a similar demographic as Ireland), receiving billions of dollars in cannabis revenue, among other beneficial

aspects.

A Red C poll was released on Monday showing 93% in favour of some type of cannabis legalisation here. Yet the people feel ignored on this topic.

It is time to have an open and honest debate on the issue of cannabis legislation and regulation and the opportunities it can bring, not only the public purse, but to the many people in Ireland who consume cannabis.

The case mentioned above is not an isolated incident in our courts system, but it highlights just how far behind Ireland is when it comes to cannabis and the law.

Natalie O’Regan

Ballyphehane

Cork