What Billy spoke about.

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EN Written Statement

The state law relating to abortion in Texas, USA

The Fianna Fáil delegation was glad to give our support to the resolution on the state law relating to abortion in Texas, USA. The resolution rightfully denounces the abortion law in Texas (Senate Bill 8), which de facto amounts to a total ban on abortion, with no exception for cases of rape, incest or fetal health conditions incompatible with sustained life after birth. In 2018, the Irish people …

9

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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An updated regulatory framework for wool (debate)

A Uachtaráin, sheep farmers have a responsibility to shear their sheep for animal welfare issues, and rightly so. But Commissioner, as it stands, farmers have to pay up to EUR 3.50 per sheep for shearing. In other words, it is a cost, and at the end of that shearing exercise, they have a product that's defined as being waste, as being a nuisance. I believe at this stage we really have to address t…

9

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up (debate)

Madam President, fairness and burden‑sharing should be at the heart of the common fisheries policy, if we were truly to live in a European Union where we try to treat all citizens and all sectors fairly. But, Commissioner, there has been an unfair burden placed on the Irish fishing communities: a 23 % decrease in direct gross value added and a 15 % drop in numbers employed over the last number of …

8

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr President, humanitarian aid has been weaponised and politicised, 90 % of Gaza destroyed, 60 % of Gaza occupied, continual encroachments into the West Bank, aggressive actions by settlers being facilitated by the Netanyahu government and the Israeli Defence Forces. Fundamental breaches of international law, refusal to accept decisions of the International Criminal Court. At the same time, we are…

8

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 18-19 June 2026 (debate)

A Uachtaráin, I welcome the Council conclusions of 18 June and 19 June, and just a few observations, Commissioner. First and foremost, the commitment to Ukraine. We really appreciate the fact that the money is now being spent on two capacities, both in terms of support of the state and on defence as well. But it leads to a very fundamental question about the issue of how we fund the European Union…

7

Jul

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr. President, on behalf of myself and my team, I welcome the Taoiseach. As everyone knows, the Taoiseach is a personal friend. We have been friends for almost 40 years. I wish you all the best, Mr. President, as you begin your presidency. You and our Union face big challenges, but I am sure you have the experience and skills to overcome them. You're on your way, sir. Taoiseach, your presidency co…

15

Jun

2026

EN Speech

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EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

Mr President, this time last year, there was great uncertainty and volatility across Europe and great concern by workers and small and medium-sized businesses. And the Turnberry agreement, while not perfect, certainly brought about stability in terms of at least giving confidence to businesses and workers that an agreement could be struck whereby we would play by certain rules. President Trump is …

20

May

2026

EN Speech

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Rights, support and protection of victims of crime (debate)

Madam President, I welcome the agreement on the Victims' Rights Directive and it is a step forward in justice. But let us be very honest, we have a long way to go. While justice must always be seen to be done, it is adversarial. It can be very hostile to victims of crime, and very often the onus is on the victim beyond their capacity in presenting a case. And that makes it difficult, particularly …

19

May

2026

EN Speech

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Presentation of the Fertilisers Action Plan (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, farming is in crisis, as you well know and there is a significant challenge with regard to sustainability of farming. We speak regularly about intergenerational solidarity and the need to bring new young people into farming. And of course, at the heart of it is the fact that input costs have increased dramatically in recent years – the price of fuel and most importan…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Situation in Lebanon: implementation of the ceasefire, support peace efforts and humanitarian access (debate)

Mr President, the situation in Lebanon is truly dire: 1.2 million people displaced; Israel occupying southern Lebanon up to the Litani River; villages being razed to the ground – already a country that was in turmoil and under huge pressure because of Hezbollah undermining it and carrying out a proxy war on behalf of Iran, but also the flow of refugees into Lebanon over many, many years. We simply…

29

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr President, since President Trump's unilateral attack on the Iranian regime, it is clear that we can no longer let our citizens be held ransom by countries that can withhold fossil fuels from us. The choice is clear. Will we do what is necessary to wean ourselves off fossil fuels and finally break the link between conflicts in one part of the world affecting the day to day lives of European citi…

27

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Financial literacy and the rise of finfluencers in the context of the savings and investments union (debate)

Madam President, there is an estimated EUR 13 trillion sitting in deposits in the European Union, earning on average around 1.6 to 1.8 % per annum. In short, this money is sitting stagnant, while instead it could be invested into Europe's real economy and, in turn, delivering returns for citizens. Europe has made great strides in making EU capital markets a more attractive place for citizens to in…

27

Apr

2026

EN Speech

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Importance of consent-based rape legislation in the EU (debate)

Mr President, the Istanbul Convention is quite clear on the context of prevention and combating violence against women and domestic violence. I think it beholds us all in this Parliament to ensure that we put consent as central to any changes in terms of legislation. If we are to talk about human rights, the basic human rights of dignity and bodily autonomy, then the European Union has to have con…

27

Apr

2026

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Control of the financial activities of the European Investment Bank Group – annual report 2024 (debate)

Madam President, at a time when the EU budget is being squeezed, national budgets are stretched and the role of the EIB and its contribution is particularly important to maintain momentum to underpin our long‑term goals. When current spending is focused on short‑term crises, the EIB can continue to invest in capital intensive projects and leverage private capital. A lot of this annual report focus…

26

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EU-US trade deal (joint debate)

Mr President, in a very volatile world, and particularly in a volatile relationship between the United States and the European Union, it is critically important that we play our part in trying to stabilise that relationship. While we do hear ideological debates inside this Chamber from the left and from the right, in the context of President Trump, I think we should be looking at it through the ey…

25

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 19 March 2026 (debate)

Madam President, I welcome the conclusions of the Council regarding competitiveness and the single market – One Europe, One Market. I certainly welcome the commitments in the areas of the 28th regime and deepening the single market and removing obstacles to our competitiveness and innovation. Reference was made to our dependency on energy and listening to the debate here, I think we live in parall…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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

Mr President, the ICC was established by the Statute of Rome. It is the court of last resort to uphold international law, and the credibility of the international community is at stake. But from a European perspective, our credibility is at stake. If we are to stand by the rule of law, if we are to stand by the principles on which this particular institution and the other institutions of the EU ar…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Savings and Investments Union: time to accelerate the process to deepen market integration (debate)

Madam President, I welcome the decision of the EU leaders on the 19 and 20 February to accelerate the completion of the savings and investments union. Indeed, when you listen to the debate here, it is quite clear that this particular project will have to work from the centre out again. I would urge those to come out of their ideological cabins and look at what we are trying to do here, which is ef…

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Building Europe's clean, independent and secure energy following the 2026 North Sea Summit (debate)

Madam President, we welcome the outcome of the Hamburg Declaration and the signing by the countries in the precincts of the North Sea, and Ireland was a signatory to that declaration as well. It is quite ambitious, Commissioner: 300 GW by 2050 from wind energy in the North Sea area. From my perspective, it means that we not only have to announce and outline what we are going to do, but we have to …

11

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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EUCO and situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

Madam President, nobody will shed tears for the mad theocracy and brutal dictatorship that is the Iranian regime. We sincerely hope that it would fall immediately and that the people of Iran will be able to decide its future. But we are at a crossroads here in terms of a number of things from the European perspective. First and foremost, are we going to acquiesce to the abandonment of multilateral…

10

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

Madam President, the housing crisis is a challenge for the individuals, for a generation and could fracture the social cohesion and generational solidarity. So, we are in the midst of a crisis and rather than climbing into the ideological trenches and trying to fight it from there, maybe we should just look at the obvious problems that we have. Supply is a significant challenge. It seems to me tha…

9

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Gender pay and pension gap in the EU: state of play, challenges and the way forward, and developing guidelines for the better evaluation and fairer remuneration of work in female-dominated sectors (debate)

Madam President, I'd like to congratulate deputies Joveva and Nykiel for their own-initiative report. Year after year, we stand at this podium and deplore the gender pay gap, and whilst it is narrowing, the progress is far too slow. The World Economic Forum has estimated that it could take over a century to close the global gender gap. One of the most worrying factors for me is the pay gap is evid…

9

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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Upcoming European Research Area (ERA) Act (debate)

Madam President, just to say, at the outset, I really welcome this debate, and I think it is very timely that we do actually accept that Europe has an awful lot of work to do in making ourselves competitive in the whole area of innovation and research. Draghi was quite clear in outlining in his report what we had to do, because if we didn't, we were going to fall further behind. So I do welcome th…

9

Mar

2026

EN Speech

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European Union regulatory fitness and subsidiarity and proportionality – report on Better Law-Making covering 2023 and 2024 (debate)

A Uachtaráin, since June 2024, this Parliament has spent a lot of time unwinding everything we did in the 2019-2024 Parliament, that was previously supported and adopted, and much of that was at the request of the Commission. Of course, some will say that this unwinding, or U-turning, is in response to emerging new issues and threats, and that is correct in certain circumstances. However, in many …

12

Feb

2026

EN Speech

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Recommendation to the Council on EU priorities for the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (debate)

Mr President, earlier this week, during the debate on the migration package, people on the right of this House stood up and repeatedly claimed that asylum seekers are a grave danger to women and girls in our communities. We just heard it again this morning. Yet the fact remains that women are most likely to be attacked by someone in their own family. To put this in context, while 60 % of female ho…