Speeches

A Uachtaráin, Ireland's energy system should serve as a cautionary tale to others in the EU, because 20 years ago, Ireland had one of the lowest energy costs in the EU, and today we have some of the highest. And why is that? It is because government after government has chased the big tech and data centres to establish themselves in Ireland. Not just have they led to increasing energy costs, there is also a moral cost to this. Microsoft's Irish data centres were sucking our grid dry and they were powering cloud and AI systems used by Israel's war machine to facilitate the genocide in Gaza. Data centres also take up a huge toll on the environment. The EU conducted an official assessment of the sustainability of Irish data centres, and only 1 in 6 of those centres even bothered reporting. So it is outrageous that Ireland – the highest concentration of data centres in Europe – has failed so badly at even basic reporting. Not only are they worsening emissions and driving up energy costs, they are now preventing housing from being connected to the grid. I would urge colleagues to be wary of encouraging data centres onto your grids.

A Uachtaráin, the EU must not take reactionary measures to what is an extremely volatile presidency that's hell-bent on enriching the billionaires around him. So standing firm is just as important as any countermeasures. The EU needs to hold its nerve. Trump and the US cannot be allowed to dictate laws to the rest of the world. His latest announcements on pharmaceuticals are deeply concerning for workers in Ireland, and they will only hurt families and workers. It is important not to bow to bullies, and I would call on Ireland to resist the pressure and the baseless accusations that are being levelled at it from the US Administration for upholding international law and enacting the Occupied Territories Bill to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The tariff war should instead be used to reset trade politics that delivers for people, communities, and social and environmental progress. And it also hasn't gone unnoticed that the Commission is trying to exploit the crisis to plough ahead with deals that have widespread public opposition – deals like Mercosur or those that contain corporate courts, like CETA, and have been found to be unconstitutional in Ireland.

A Uachtaráin, the EU must not take reactionary measures to what is an extremely volatile presidency that's hell-bent on enriching the billionaires around him. So standing firm is just as important as any countermeasures. The EU needs to hold its nerve. Trump and the US cannot be allowed to dictate laws to the rest of the world. His latest announcements on pharmaceuticals are deeply concerning for workers in Ireland, and they will only hurt families and workers. It is important not to bow to bullies, and I would call on Ireland to resist the pressure and the baseless accusations that are being levelled at it from the US Administration for upholding international law and enacting the Occupied Territories Bill to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements. The tariff war should instead be used to reset trade politics that delivers for people, communities, and social and environmental progress. And it also hasn't gone unnoticed that the Commission is trying to exploit the crisis to plough ahead with deals that have widespread public opposition – deals like Mercosur or those that contain corporate courts, like CETA, and have been found to be unconstitutional in Ireland.

A Uachtaráin, we're now at a point where gunning down hungry people as they desperately try to get aid is a daily occurrence. There was international shock the first time, but just like with the bombing of the first hospital, when there are no consequences for Israel, they are emboldened and they carry on. 700 Palestinians have now been slaughtered at aid sites; baby formula is blocked. They are literally starving babies to death, and still the EU does not act. In fact, instead of holding Israel to account, President von der Leyen has Netanyahu, a war criminal, on speed dial, and she's actively encouraging him to carry out Illegal strikes on Iran. There is more outrage from EU leaders about artists calling out a genocide than there is against those who are actually carrying out that genocide. Solidarity with Palestine is being criminalised and the EU is sacrificing its civil liberties to support Israel. But Palestinian solidarity grows stronger every day. The people won't be silenced. The people are demanding suspension of trade with Israel. The people are demanding sanctions against Israel. The people are demanding an end to their complicity with Israel's war crime and its genocide, and they are demanding that their EU leaders act and listen to them.

A Uachtaráin, I welcome that the Parliament is challenging the Commission's use of Article 122 of the TFEU to adopt the SAFE Regulation. The Commission chose this mechanism for the very purpose of bypassing parliamentary scrutiny, and it is a wholly inappropriate mechanism for defence spending. Article 122 is supposed to help Member States in the event of difficulties in the supply of certain products, like energy, or for natural disasters. It is not for the use of defence spending. But it is not the first time that the Commission has done this. They've also wrongly used Article 173 as the legal basis for the ASAP Regulation, which is effectively a EUR 500 million slush fund for the arms industry. This Commission is hell bent on funnelling as much public money as possible into the hugely profitable arms industry, while people across Europe are facing a cost-of-living crisis. We must stand up for democratic scrutiny and for public money to be used to address the cost of living, not the needs of ultra wealthy arms companies.

A Uachtaráin, I welcome this debate on enlargement, as EU membership is a discussion that's happening in many regions across the continent – regions like the north of Ireland. Here the debate is coupled with the conversation around Irish reunification. This is an oven-ready, straightforward enlargement. The EU Council has already agreed – in the event of Irish reunification – the readmission of the north of Ireland. The conversation on reunification is taking place across the island of Ireland, in both public and private forums. Its special status is already recognised in international agreements. It's only a small step to reintegration into the EU. The conversation on unity has been heightened since the people of the North were forced out of the EU against their will by the Brexit vote. It is now time for the British Government to set definitive criteria for a unity referendum. The north of Ireland is a developed region which spent decades in the EU. The next enlargement could be about welcoming back the people of the North. However, I urge caution: an enlarged EU must be one that upholds the values that it claims to hold: that means respect for Member States' foreign policy and their policy of neutrality, and that means respect for international law and human rights.

Madam President, on a point of order, the keffiyeh is not a political statement. Is it against the rules of this House to have a Ukrainian flag or a pin on our lapels? Would somebody call on us to remove that? People are more annoyed about symbols than they are about starving babies!

Madam President, I stand here today to do what EU leaders won't do, and that is to apologise to the people of Gaza and Palestine. I'm sorry that it has taken tens of thousands of deaths and the imminent death of 14 000 starving babies just so that the European Commission can agree to review an association agreement that should have been suspended years ago. I'm sorry that the EU countries continue to send the bombs and weapons that shred your children to pieces, and that there's no accountability for their complicity in your mass murder. I'm sorry that over a year after the ICJ ruled that there was a credible risk of genocide against your people, EU leaders have failed to agree a single sanction against Israel. I'm sorry that EU leaders have refused to enforce the ICC arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, the war criminals responsible for the genocide against you. I am sorry that you are starving while a few kilometres away, Zionists dine in the finest restaurants. To the children of Gaza, I am sorry that the EU's complicity and the moral cowardice of our leaders have resulted in your childhoods being stolen, your bodies being starved and broken, and your brutal murder. I want you to know that the public stand with you. We stand with you against the complicity of our leaders. Outside these institutions, people are making it clear they will never accept the normalisation of genocide or the violation of international law. We have not abandoned you. 'Never again' means 'never again' for anyone! (The President cut off the speaker)

A Uachtaráin, I abstained on the discharge because the attached resolution is totally out of touch with reality. In the last number of days, the Israeli Government has agreed plans to permanently occupy Gaza, the Freedom Flotilla ship, the Conscience, was attacked and the Israeli authorities are carrying out a mass starvation program in Gaza. Food is rotting at the border, while only a number of miles away, children are starving. The Director of the World Health Organization's Health Emergencies Programme, Dr Mike Ryan, has said that the world is breaking the bodies and minds of the children in Gaza as a result of the inaction and complicity of many world leaders. The Gaza Freedom Flotilla recognises what EU leaders did not. You do not stand by while children are starving. You do not stand by while they are shredded to pieces, as they are bombed in tents. And you do not stand by with those who carry out these crimes against humanity. It's time to end the EU complicity!

A Uachtaráin, Commissioner, when it comes to the EU's response to Trump's tariffs, it's essential that all Member States, including smaller ones like Ireland, are taken into consideration. The collective response must be one that protects workers, that funds and encourages upskilling and that does not pursue the same anti-worker, anti-environment, Trump-lite deregulation agenda. We also cannot exploit this crisis to increase LNG imports or to advance trade deals like Mercosur or the ratification of CETA. Deforestation, food laden with chemicals and corporate courts will not protect workers in Europe, but it will protect the profits of the few. Now is the time for fair, sustainable trade, which does not leave us exposed to the whims of oligarchs or serve the interests of corporates. Instead, it serves the interests of workers and families in Europe.

A Uachtaráin, I voted against this report because it shows just how committed European leaders are to militarisation and the arms race. The EU is founded as a peace project. Indeed, in the Schuman Declaration, it was said that the pooling of coal and steel production will change the destinies of those regions which have long been devoted to the manufacture of munitions of war, of which they have been the most constant victims. Now we have European countries withdrawing from the Cluster Munitions Convention and the Anti-Personnel Mines Convention. In their desperation to give more and more public money to the arms industry, European leaders will next propose cutting public services. A better Europe is possible, one envisaged from 75 years ago, one that is committed to peace and one that defends the international institutions that were born out of the war – those institutions like the ICJ, the ICC and the UN.

A Uachtaráin, I'd like to welcome VP Kallas here today, given her notable absence at recent debates. And today I want to compare what Israel says with what Israel does, seeing as the Commission is unable to make that distinction. Israel claims it facilitates humanitarian aid entering Gaza. Yet all entry points into Gaza are closed for cargo since early March. At the border, food is rotting, medicine is expiring and vital medical equipment is trapped. Israel originally denied bombing the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital. It has now attacked all hospitals in Gaza. Israel denies targeting journalists, yet they've killed over 200 journalists in Gaza. Israel denies killing humanitarian workers, yet they've murdered 15 paramedics and aid workers one by one and buried them in a shallow grave, some of them with their hands bound. Under the EU's watch, Israel has normalised genocide and contempt for international law. When will the EU find its humanity and stand up to this rogue state. Sanction Israel, free Palestine!

A Uachtaráin, the decision by the Israeli Government to cut off electricity to Gaza is just the latest in a series of actions designed to make life for Palestinians unliveable. The decades-long illegal occupation and the 18-year blockade and siege of Gaza have all been allowed to continue because of the inaction of the international community, and that includes the EU. 'Attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, are war crimes': those are not my words, those are the words of the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who rightfully called out Russia but refuses to call out Israel when they deprive Palestinians of water, food and electricity. War crimes are war crimes, and international law applies to everyone. The obvious double standards that we are seeing are undermining the EU's credibility across the world and even with its own citizens. The provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice in weighing the allegation of genocide brought against Israel specifically referred to the facilitation of aid deliveries. In the International Criminal Court, one of the charges against Netanyahu is that he is using starvation as a method of warfare. We had the Association Council meeting in February, and some of us naively thought that maybe some strong words would be said to the Israeli authorities; maybe they would be asked to uphold international law. But instead, what we have seen is that things have gotten worse since that meeting. Israel is escalating its violation of international law. So the question is: when is the EU going to finally stand up for international law and human rights?

Madam President, I've been listening to the whole debate, and I've heard a lot of colleagues talk about defending democracy and about the need to join an EU army, but I would like to ask them, what about Ireland's democracy? What about our right to be a neutral country? Because repeatedly, Irish citizens have rejected any form of EU common security and defence or EU army, both at Nice and at Lisbon treaties. They rejected those treaties on that basis, and consistently polling data shows that 75% of the Irish population support our position of neutrality. So I ask colleagues who are calling for NATO, who are calling for EU armies, what about Ireland's respect for our democracy and our democratic wishes to remain a neutral country and to not have our cohesion funds slashed and burned for the arms industry of Europe? So, respect Ireland's democratic wishes.

Madam President, as the EU commits itself to a dangerous policy of rearmament, which is only going to make the world more dangerous, the Irish Government is also getting ready to jettison our triple lock on the deployment of Irish troops. Let us be very clear: Ireland's neutrality and our long-standing commitment to UN peacekeeping missions has made the world safer. It is attacks on the UN and on neutrality that is making the world less safe. From our role in leading negotiations on the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to being the only country to have an unbroken record of UN peacekeeping service since 1958, Ireland's neutrality has been a beacon in this world. The cynical moves to scrap the triple lock will move us away from the UN and threatens Ireland's neutrality. The most recent poll shows that 75 % of Irish people support our continued neutrality. Yet the Irish Government seems determined to throw its lot in with the EU, to undermine our neutrality at every turn, while the EU is engaging in an arms race. It's time to save the triple lock.

Chair, 196 people were killed for protecting their land, rights and environment in 2023. 245 textile workers died in 2021. Every year, over 200 people are killed in mining accidents in the DRC. The CSDDD had a chance to tackle human rights violations and the destruction of the environment. But if we reduce the duties on big companies, we listen deafly to the UN recommendations regarding their business and human rights. We are trying to reduce the red tape and costs for small companies where possible, but we do not agree with deregulation. Simply put, this Omnibus package goes back to human rights that we all uphold our law on business and human rights.

Madam President, I wish to raise a point of order relating to the agenda item on the deteriorating situation in Gaza. On February 24, the official mission of this Parliament's delegation for relations with Palestine, of which I am the Chair, was supposed to take place. Instead, myself, Rima Hassan, MEP, and two officials of this Parliament were detained by the Israeli authorities and subsequently deported. While detained by the Israeli authorities, our electronic devices held by Members and staff of the delegation were confiscated for over 90 minutes. Our passports, including an Irish diplomatic passport, were confiscated and were not returned to us until we arrived back in Brussels. This all took place on the same day that the EU-Israel Association Council was taking place, and EU leaders were committing themselves to continue business as usual with Israel, while the Israeli authorities were not allowing us, as elected officials, to do our jobs. So I ask you, Madam President, that you address this matter urgently.

A Uachtaráin, Mercosur is a rotten trade deal that's widely opposed by the public across Europe and they're not buying what the Commission is trying to sell. Irish beef farmers are already struggling to be viable and this deal will push them over the edge. It's also, as others have said, a massive step backwards on our climate commitments. The Commission has blatantly set aside our climate and biodiversity commitments to push through a deal that will increase emissions and deforestation. This is a bad deal for people and planet with carve-outs for the Mercosur countries on the EUDR. This deal is a license to continue killing the Amazon forest. It will paralyse future environmental legislation, giving Mercosur countries the power to challenge EU environmental measures, which will have a devastating, chilling effect. From a public health point of view, does the Commission seriously believe that people in Europe want to eat food that is produced with chemicals that have been banned for years? I'm calling on people to protect the people, protect the planet and stop this rotten trade deal.

Madam President, I also want to raise the issue of animal welfare. During the European elections, millions of voters called for a review and reform of animal welfare, including the ECI 'End the Cage Age'. Yet the Work Programme makes very little reference to nature or animals. All morning this debate has been about deregulation, and I sincerely hope that this will not apply to animal welfare. In June, horrific footage emerged from Shannonside Abattoir in Ireland of horses being beaten and desperately mistreated. The EU needs to enforce and enhance its animal welfare, especially in slaughterhouses. But across the Atlantic we are seeing calls for deregulation in meatpacking and slaughterhouses. So I hope that what I have heard this morning is not an indication that we are going to do a race to the bottom, and especially not a race to the bottom on animal welfare.

A Uachtaráin, the repeated violations of the agreement by Israel is threatening a fragile ceasefire. There must be accountability for the latest killings and the failure to allow medical evacuations, and for aid to enter. The Israeli Government must be held to account for the attacks in the West Bank. And we need action against the increasing extremist settler violence. All of us who respect international law were horrified by President Trump's proposition to ethnically cleanse Gaza and steal what little land the Palestinian people still have. This plan is colonialism in its most brutal form, and the silence from the Commission was astounding. The Commission must answer for the EU's astounding moral failure to stand up to Trump's colonial rhetoric, or attacks on international law and the multilateral institutions that we claim to hold so dear. Let us be very clear: Gaza is not for sale. Gaza is not for sale, and the land and resources belong to the Palestinian people. The EU's strategy for the Middle East, if it respected international law, would be suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. It would mean sanctions. It would mean the end of weapons transfers from EU Member States and full implementation of the ICJ advisory opinion of the 19 July. We cannot have a long-term strategy until we recognise the immorality and illegality of the occupation and pursue true justice for the people of Palestine. The EU has spent the last 15 months engaging in moral cowardice in the face of and in complicity with genocide, and this cannot continue. We need to respect international law and the protection of multilateral institutions. Free Palestine.

A Uachtaráin, as we see the EU become more transactional globally, we are witnessing a massive step backwards in our global relationships. The binary debate between tariffs or more of the same neoliberal trade agendas reveals the stunning shortsightedness of EU trade policy. What we need is sustainable, socially just trade which protects workers and our planet, not trade at all costs. Decades of structural adjustment programmes and forced liberalisation of developing economies has been a disaster for many countries in the Global South. President Trump has made it clear that he will use tariffs to bully other countries, to accede to his demands in other areas of public policy, for example on migration and drugs. The EU must stand up. We are at a crossroads. We need not more of the same, or to fight for our own right to bully others, but we need to fight for trade relations that are people- and climate-centred and that respect multilateral cooperation.

A Uachtaráin, the failure of the latest round of negotiations on the global plastic treaty has caused worldwide disappointment. Yet there are those who would see no action to reduce plastic pollution at source: the fossil fuel and chemical companies who produce it. There were 220 fossil fuel and chemical lobbyists registered for the negotiations in Busan ‑ more than all the negotiators for the EU and Member States combined, and it outnumbered the independent scientists 3 to 1. Among them, were some of Europe’s biggest companies, like BASF, Dow, Exxon and Ineos, represented by trade associations like Plastics Europe and CEFIC. These are the very companies and associations that are now calling for environmental deregulation and public subsidies under the Industrial Deal. As with the climate negotiations, we see the insidious presence of fossil-fuel lobbyists growing as attempts at multilateral actions fail. We have to kick these big polluters out so that the negotiators can focus on real solutions to plastic pollution and put the public interest first.

A Uachtaráin, Commissioner, 30.4 million people in Sudan – that's half the population of the country – currently need humanitarian support, and 14.8 million have been displaced. The civilian population, as we have heard, are facing extreme violence, deprivation and famine conditions, and the sexual violence faced by Sudanese women must end. The impact of this war on children is also particularly shameful. Children as young as eight have been raped, and almost 4 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Over 2 million babies born during the past 20 months are at risk from the decimated healthcare system and the crisis levels of hunger. Amnesty International has called for the arms embargo to be extended to the whole country, and we need to confront the fact that the military‑industrial complex is benefiting from the violence in Sudan, just like they have profited from the genocide in Gaza. We should also recall that the peaceful revolution in Sudan only a few short years ago, where the civilian Forces of Freedom and Change alliance were not supported by the international community and were forced to share power with the military, saw democracy being snuffed out before it could truly begin. A return to the politics of power has created a situation of unimaginable suffering in Sudan. We must ask ourselves why the democratic revolution was not supported. This is one of the direst humanitarian disasters in this century, and the EU must work to end the violence and meet the humanitarian needs of the Sudanese people, including those who seek refuge. Finally, we must also look to our priorities. The EUR 4.2 billion that is needed to meet the immediate humanitarian needs in Sudan is just a fraction of the USD 2.4 trillion annual global military expenditure. We need to invest in peace, human rights, sustainable development and social justice, and not more money for the bottomless pit of militarism.

Mr. President, the genocide in Gaza has raged for over 460 days. Tens and thousands of men, women and children have been killed and an entire society has been levelled. And I welcome the ceasefire agreement, but we cannot return to business as usual, where the illegal occupation of Palestine is allowed to continue without any consequences for Israel. The response of the EU to the genocide, live-streamed for all to see, was reprehensible. European leaders are complicit with Israel's actions in Gaza. From those European weapons manufacturers that provided the weapons to the EU itself that provided the diplomatic and political cover; Europe has failed to stand up for human rights and international law, and its credibility is on the floor. Accountabilities for war crimes must now happen and the work of the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice must be fully supported. On the ceasefire deal itself – I welcome the return of the hostages and the Palestinians who have been arbitrarily detained by Israel. However, Doctor Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, remains detained and it is widely reported that his health is deteriorating due to the disgraceful treatment he is receiving from Israel. The EU must work for its immediate release. Finally, I wish to call for the repeal of the anti-UNRWA laws. There is no alternative to UNRWA, there is no 'plan B'. The EU must use all the tools available to ensure these laws are repealed, and UNRWA can continue its vital work. We need to work together to end the illegal occupation. Freedom of the Palestinians.

A Uachtaráin, biodiversity is under threat from all sides. Terrifying news of new extinctions remind us that we are living through a mass extinction of our own making. Biodiversity loss is not only due to unintended consequences of human activity though, it is also due to the deliberate actions of policymakers. We have just seen the downgrading of the conservation status of the wolf, and I am very afraid that this will be the start of an attack on our core environmental legislation. When will we learn that we cannot turn our backs on nature protection? Instead, we need to put money and resources behind biodiversity action. Over the coming year, Member States will develop their nature restoration plans. For strong plans, we need a commitment from the Commission for a dedicated nature restoration fund in the next MFF. Laws alone, though, are not enough. We also need better prosecution of wildlife crimes and if we are serious about protecting nature, then we need to show it. Crimes against nature are crimes against our common home, so when will we defend it?