What Lynn spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

Digital Package (debate)

At this stage the Commission has stretched the word “simplification” so far it has lost all meaning. Nothing in this proposal will simplify life for ordinary people. It will make life easier for Big Tech to exploit extensive loopholes. This Digital Omnibus is not simplification; it is deregulation and corporate capture dressed as reform. Europe’s data-protection and AI safeguards are being weakene…

7 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Urgent need for a tax on super-profits of polluters: protecting people’s health and lowering energy bills in times of the climate crisis (topical debate)

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Mr President, as a direct result of President Trump's idiotic and illegal war in Iran, anxiety is growing in many homes as we head into the winter. Will it be another year of choosing between heating and eating? Households are at their limit, yet fossil fuel companies are raking it in: billions of windfall profits, cashing in on the crisis. There is a way to shift the balance back: tax these super…

6 Oct

2026

EN Speech

The state of play of advancing EU-Africa trade and investment relations (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, I welcome the initiative from INTA Chair Bernd Lange to examine the issue of transparency with these so-called mini deals. New bilateral agreements such as CTIPs and SIFAs instead seem to prioritise the needs of European investors and the demand for African countries' natural resources. We are seeing a new scramble for Africa, and we only need look to the Democratic Republic of Congo…

15 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Escalation in the Middle East (debate)

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Mr President, European policy has led to the death of people. Israel's occupation of Lebanon is on the rise. Genocide in Gaza is still ongoing. The door is open in front of our eyes. The Israeli government is clear about its objectives. He is trying to ethnically clean Gaza and the West Bank. He wants a state of his own to deny the Palestinian people. He wants to take over Lebanon. This is done wi…

15 Sep

2026

EN Question

Defence (joint debate)

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Madam Chair, this law says it all about the EU's obsession with militarisation. It calls the war on Ukraine a possibility to test weapons in a 'live experience of modern warfare'. European citizens are deeply supportive of Ukraine, but they expect the EU to be working towards a just and lasting peace. Instead, we are letting the defence industry make Ukraine their testing ground and paying them to…

14 Sep

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, the trial of the Ulm Five in Germany is an attack on civil liberties and the rule of law in Europe. Daniel Tatlow-Devally, Crow Tricks, Zo Hailu, Leandra Rollo and Vi Kovarbasic have now been in prison for over a year without a verdict. Not content with their complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza, the German Government are oppressing European citizens who refuse to stand by as G…

14 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: extension of its scope to downstream goods and anti-circumvention measures - Establishing the Temporary Decarbonisation Fund - Market stability reserve for the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS): ceasing the invalidation of allowances

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President, colleagues, Commissioner, as the Left shadow for CBAM and TDF and as the rapporteur for the INTA opinion, I would like to take the opportunity to thank both the rapporteurs for their commitment. I think we have a strong agreement on key points, where we expand the CBAM without undermining it, and we also bring more global justice to the CBAM. We believe in this policy, but we need other…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

The EU’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the accountability of Israel under international law (topical debate)

Watch

A Uachtaráin, the people of Gaza have now suffered more than 1 000 days of genocide, 1 000 days of mass murder, starvation and an international community that's too cowardly to hold Israel accountable. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestine Territory has found that Israel continues to commit genocide and deliberately targets Palestinian children in Gaza an…

7 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Irish Presidency (debate)

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Mr President, Mr President, the Irish Presidency of the Council is an opportunity to be a voice for peace. Voice for human rights and international law. time to promote our values. Unfortunately, though, the Irish Government's approach continues to be: 'We will be principled, but only when it costs us nothing'. Ireland is a country with a proud record on peacebuilding, disarmament and internationa…

18 Jun

2026

EN Answer

Joint Declaration on ‘Culture for Europe - Europe for Culture’ (debate)

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Absolutely, our culture is our language, is our life – as we say in Ireland. We absolutely all need to protect the right for people to speak our language – for the Galicians, the Basques, the Catalans and, likewise, for the Irish. In the committees we need to have full derogation of the Irish language.…

18 Jun

2026

EN Answer

Joint Declaration on ‘Culture for Europe - Europe for Culture’ (debate)

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My point was that all the people of Europe – our Dublin as an example – need to invest in its culture because culture is so important. I thought somebody on the right would understand how important it is to protect our culture and to invest EU funding in cultural spaces for everybody who lives in our countries.…

18 Jun

2026

GA Speech

Joint Declaration on ‘Culture for Europe - Europe for Culture’ (debate)

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17 Jun

2026

EN Speech

Electrification Action Plan (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, the electrification plan action will provide a crucial boost for electrification based on renewables across the EU, and electrification will, of course, not only reduce emissions, but also energy bills by reducing our reliance on volatile fossil fuels. Of course, we should be electrifying end users where possible, but, at the same time, we need policy coherence so as not to create ba…

16 Jun

2026

EN Speech

The role of the EU in efforts for peace and stability throughout the Middle East after the announced deal between the US and Iran (debate)

Watch

A Uachtaráin, yesterday EUobserver reported that as far back as 2017 the Commission's then top lawyer was very clear that the EU was legally entitled to suspend cooperation with Israel, such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus exchanges, due to Israel's violations of international law. Almost 10 years and the EU has refused to act! We have witnessed a genocide in Gaza, the annexation of the West Bank, e…

20 May

2026

EN Speech

Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

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Madam President, tackling poverty is the key to healthy, thriving communities, to safe communities, to social cohesion. But failure to combat poverty pits marginalised groups against each other. It prevents children from fulfilling their potential. That means lifelong consequences for them. Fighting poverty requires the same urgency that this Commission applies to its militarisation agenda. 320 00…

19 May

2026

EN Speech

Opportunities and challenges presented by a comprehensive artificial intelligence strategy for EU trade (debate)

Watch

A Uachtaráin, I'd like to thank the rapporteur for his constructive work on this report. But that said, I still think that we are not fully reflecting the significant challenges that AI present for workers, for our economies, and for our very society. Specifically on trade policy, I think there are significant concerns about how data flows and digital trade agreements will undermine our data prote…

19 May

2026

EN Speech

Recommendation on the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, the United Nations was founded to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. It was not born out of a naive idealism, but out of the horrors of the Second World War and a realisation by the survivors that humanity's best possible hope was cooperation and multilateralism. And as the United States and Israel plunged the world into instability and attacked the UN, we need coun…

18 May

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Watch

Mr President, in July, the Irish Government will take over the EU presidency. This should be an occasion for the Irish Government to lead on international law, defend Irish neutrality, lead on a united Ireland and tackle the cost of energy. Instead, it looks like the legacy of the Irish Presidency will be the closure of a business and the unemployment of workers. The Silk Road Café is a much-loved…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

EU strategy in response to the ongoing Middle East crisis, its implications on energy prices and the availability of fertilizers (joint debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, there is now no doubt that Israel and the United States represent the greatest threat to global security and are a risk to social cohesion right across Europe. They have caused the worst oil and gas crisis in history, and for the cost of living in the EU to skyrocket. Israel and the United States are carrying out illegal wars, bombing school children, hunting and killing …

28 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union in 2024 and 2025 (debate)

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Mr President, a chairde, as we debate this report, civil liberties in Europe are clearly under attack. Many Member States are attacking the right to protest and the right to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. We have seen artists censored for expressing solidarity. We have seen ordinary citizens beaten off the streets for protesting Israel's genocide in Gaza. We have seen the weaponis…

12 Mar

2026

EN Answer

Ban on the sale of nitrous oxide to the general public (debate)

Watch

Well, I do come from a working-class background in Tallaght in south-west Dublin and, unfortunately, you're right that it is in working-class areas that we see a lot more nitrous oxide canisters. I think we need to also invest. So while we need to restrict the nitrous oxide sales, we also need to invest in our working-class communities. We need to invest in providing community services for young p…

12 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Ban on the sale of nitrous oxide to the general public (debate)

Watch

A Uachtaráin, I do welcome this important discussion on nitrous oxide. The so‑called laughing gas we know is a growing threat to public health and young people are particularly impacted. Nitrous oxide canisters with sweet flavours are being marketed at children. Inhaling nitrous oxide, as others have said, can cause sensory issues, heart problems, mental health issues and even long‑term spinal cor…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Immunity of International Criminal Court officials and the activation of the EU Blocking Statute to strengthen EU strategic autonomy (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, as Israel and the United States illegally attack Iran, and as the Israeli Government violates the sovereignty of Lebanon and displaces more than 700 000 people – 200 000 of whom are children; as Trump unleashes the brutal hand of imperialism on Latin America, the role of the International Criminal Court has never been more important. The EU has done nothing as the ICC has been attack…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Multilateral negotiations in view of the WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference in Yaoundé, 26 to 29 March 2026 (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, the WTO's 14th Ministerial Conference comes at a pivotal moment for the multilateral trading system. Yes, reform of the WTO is absolutely needed, but what is being suggested is a power grab by the world's wealthiest countries. This will only further disadvantage the Global South, and it will orient trade towards the profits of large corporations, rather than for the benefit of ordina…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Cutting red tape to enable a competitive and clean transition – the urgent need to shorten and simplify permitting (debate)

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A Uachtaráin, when we look at everything that's justified as 'cutting red tape' today, we have to admit that we're really just cutting our social and environmental protections. The environmental omnibus strips down the permitting rules for anything strategic, and so-called 'strategic' defence infrastructure, airports and data centres will not help the green transition. In Ireland, data centres are…