What Seán spoke about.

Mr President, it is a privilege for me to attend COP31 on behalf of my group and Parliament and together with my colleague, Minister Timmy Dooley. Each of the last 10 years ranks among the 10 hottest on record, Europe is the fastest warming continent, and current national pledges still point to well over two degrees of warming. Our greatest challenge for COP31 is effectiveness. We have already est

A Uachtaráin, it was striking the number of MEPs who spoke saying they benefited, themselves, from Erasmus, and indeed, Ms Yar said she would not be an MEP, only for Erasmus. The benefits of Erasmus would be replicated by the 16 million people who actually took part in it, and one could say that each of those becomes a lifelong human billboard promoting the EU as a result of their experiences. I a

A Uachtaráin, I welcome the European Council's call on the Commission to bring forward measures to address soaring energy prices. Few countries feel them more than Ireland. We have the highest household electricity prices in the Union – around EUR 480 a year more than the average, which is a direct result of our continued reliance on imported gas and the price impact that the conflicts in Ukraine

Mr President, although I'm from Ireland, I like to speak on this topic about the Mediterranean. So, I think this Pact for the Mediterranean is a very good one. It will help strengthen cooperation with our southern partners, foster growth, innovation, stability and, above all, peace across the region. I also welcome putting people at the heart of this partnership. Civil society, businesses and univ

A Uachtaráin, Houthi attacks have helped pushed oil prices over USD 100 a barrel. EU household energy prices are up almost 19 % on last year, due to a Middle East war Europe did not start, but must help and insulate itself from. Ireland is more exposed than most. We import 78 % of our energy. Why does this matter? Because our prices are still set by fossil fuels priced on global markets. Until we

A Choimisinéir, a Aire, a chairde, dia daoibh ar maidin, many predicted Brexit would be a disaster and so it has turned out to be: United Kingdom productivity down 4 %, imports and exports 15 % lower than if the United Kingdom had remained in the European Union, et cetera, et cetera. QED. Still, 41 % of United Kingdom exports come to the EU, and the UK is our second largest trading partner after t

Mr President, Commissioner, this is an important and interesting topic. I'd like to thank my good colleague Barry Andrews for raising important questions regarding the Commission's initiative. The pandemic proved that global health affects us all, and we cannot be resilient until healthcare systems around the world are resilient. Persistent health inequalities make people less capable of preventin

Mr President, I am speaking again on this topic. Since the national security law was imposed in 2020, over 40 independent bookshops have closed in Hong Kong amid pressure over allegedly seditious publications. Those that remain operate under an increasingly real threat: sell the wrong book and risk losing your freedom. The recent arrest of bookseller Leticia Wong is another alarming sign of a crac

I think we cannot control the United States, but we can control our own actions, and I have called on the EU to show strength and unity, particularly in standing up for the Palestinians in this situation and standing with other countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, in relation to the situation in the settlements and banning trade. And I think if there is enough willpower there, then that c

Mr. President, I will be as fast as I can. Yesterday, at the first debate on the conclusions of the European Council meeting, a lot of Members – understandably at the time – were critical of the non-attendance of the Irish Presidency. Having already looked at the reason, I can now assure Members that it was not the fault of the Irish Presidency. The European Council decided, because it was the con

Madam President, my colleague Ressler said Europe was a sleeping giant. And this is a sleep that is self-inflicted because of overregulation etc. So now we need to wake up and get rid of the sleeping tablets. I think the report by Mario Draghi has been followed through very sensibly by the Commission in relation to omnibuses and now the 28 tax regime. But also crucial to that is investment money,

Mr President, I am pleased to speak on this important topic. Europe's bioeconomy represents one of our greatest untapped economic opportunities – by turning agricultural residues, forestry by-products, marine resources and organic waste into high-value products, we can reduce our dependence on fossil-based materials while creating new jobs, new industries, and new income streams for rural communit

A Uachtaráin, the Commission estimates that rebuilding Gaza will cost USD 71 billion. For decades, the EU has funded schools, hospitals, water networks, community centres in Palestine – many of them now destroyed. We must ask ourselves why the European Union has become remarkably consistent in financing the foundations of Palestinian life, while displaying far less determination in holding account

Mr President, this is a very important topic for all of us. Therefore, our support for Ukraine must continue to be unconditional and unwavering. This support must remain unconditional even where this brings economic or political challenges for all of us. Ukraine is defending all of Europe, and we must take every single measure possible to choke the Russian economy and ensure nothing we do in the E

Mr President, Mr President, Mr Commissioner, congratulations, Mr President, on the great speech you have given us. Like you said, you've made a good start and proceed with the good work. The competitiveness, values and security theme of the Irish Presidency – I think most people can see that's good, and it captures the essentials for this mandate. I think Mario Draghi outlined in 2024 the need for

A Uachtaráin, I think there is nothing more depressing than to see a traditional industry like the automotive industry basically going down the tubes, especially because of unfair competition from China. So that's up to us to ensure that competition is stopped and that we give a fair advantage to our own industries. But also, I think, we can move forward and be a little more creative. I agree with

Thank you, Mr President, At a time when I was rising up in Ireland, we are told to go out to play and not come back until dinner was ready. This does not seem to be the case for today's children. In these times, many children are staring at a screen for long hours, and unfortunately, video games are not counted as play. Playing together creates friendship, develops trust, learns to solve problems

Mr President, the resilience of our transport sector is synonymous with the resilience of our fuel supply and its cost. If we can't power our transport fleets, haulage, freight, shipping or aviation, our economy will grind to a halt. The recent war in the Middle East has demonstrated clearly just how vulnerable our transport sector and, by extension, our economy is. The IEA estimates that oil supp

A Uachtaráin, let's firstly get the facts straight. A peace deal has not been achieved between the US and Iran. There is a memorandum of understanding, a framework for negotiations, and difficult negotiations lie ahead. Despite President Trump's words regarding what has been going on in Iran since the war began, one thing is clear: it is a different Iran, but not necessarily a better one. While th

A Uachtaráin, whether we like it or not, AI is here to stay. AI will define our competitiveness and cybersecurity for years to come, and it would be naive to simply be AI customers. President Trump's decision to ban Anthropic's powerful Mythos model underlines the geopolitical importance of this technology. We were punished in 2022 because of our dependency on Russian gas. If data is a new oil, we

A Uachtaráin, the recent volatility in global fossil fuel markets has again demonstrated how exposed Europe is to global price shocks completely beyond our control, and why ending our dependence on fossil fuels is so important. Sustainable biofuels can play an important role in that transition, but as someone who has been closely involved in the sustainability debate over many years, I think we al

A Uachtaráin, 'high time to deliver on the single market'. The words 'high time' suggest an urgency and the frustration, which is understandable. I remember saying to Ursula von der Leyen over two years ago, at an EPP meeting, that since I came here in 2009, all I was hearing was, 'We need to complete the single market, we need to complete the single market, we need to complete the single market.'