Speeches

Mr President, I welcome the report. And just to say that we should continue to engage in dialogue, particularly human rights dialogue between the European Union and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And that dialogue, obviously should cover women's rights, vulnerable groups and migrants. It should also cover the rule of law, rights to a fair trial, and obviously the issue of the death penalty. Saudi Arabia is a key geopolitical partner in the Gulf region now. It has huge influence and huge resources. It is an ally very often of Israel. It is an ally of the United States in the key geopolitical decisions being made in that region. Equally, the European Union should work closely with Saudi Arabia to ensure that our views and what we would like to see happen in that particular region is reflected as well and relayed to Saudi Arabia. But the one thing we can do is pretend that there isn't appalling abuse in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and we must continue to advocate for the points already raised by the Members here with regard to women's rights, vulnerable groups, rule of law, the right to fair trials, the death penalty and making sure migrants are protected and not abused.

Mr President, of course, we should be very concerned about the geopolitical tensions and the impact that they may have on medicine supplies in Europe. We have to ensure that we have a continuity of supply, both in terms of the production, the manufacturing, but also access to ingredients and generics. Being too dependent on a small number of countries for the large volumes of medicines that we purchase does put us in a very vulnerable position, Commissioner. We have now the pharmaceutical strategy, the Critical Medicines Act as well. But what we really need to do is to make sure that Europe becomes a hub for innovation and research, broadening clinical trials and improving our competitiveness. That is the real significant barrier to ensuring that Europe has the capacity not only to innovate, but to produce – research, innovation, clinical trials and our competitiveness. On a broader issue, Commissioner, I do think we do have to look at the whole issue of procurement and reimbursement. We cannot have a situation where your access to medicine is based on a lottery code on where you live, which country you are born in. Certainly I believe that if you have a centralised procurement system under the auspices of the European Union, that that in a way would be able to stimulate greater, quicker payments to companies and further stimulate innovation.

Mr President, the scientific advice regarding the quotas for 2026 are devastating from an Irish perspective: a 70 % cut to mackerel, a 41 % cut in blue whiting and a potential loss of 2 600 jobs in coastal communities across Ireland. Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Russia: non-EU states are unilaterally pillaging Irish waters, Commissioner – pillaging our coastal communities of their ability to make a living. Norway in particular, who has access to Irish waters with super trawlers, continues to overfish at an alarming rate. As was pointed out, over the past five years, around 1 million tonnes have been fished above what is acceptable by scientific advice. We simply have to stop this pillaging of Irish waters. Ireland was dealt harshly in Brexit, but we now again have a situation where the country that catches the least amount of fish in its waters is the one that's being penalised most in the context of the scientific advice. Very soon the scientific advice will be assessing the loss of fish in Irish waters, and, equally, they will be assessing the fact that we have no more fishing coastal communities on the island of Ireland. It is time that the EU acts fairly and squarely and stands behind Irish fishers in Irish waters.

Madam President, Nathan Gill, a former Member of the European Parliament, a member of UKIP, sat on those seats from 2014 to 2020. He was jailed for 10 years at the Old Bailey last week for taking bribes from Russia – Russian money paid by oligarchs to make speeches in this Chamber promoting Russia and denigrating Ukraine. It sounds very familiar from those benches over there. Oleg Voloshyn was a Russian who prompted Mr Gill to make these continuous speeches, and we have to accept that some of the commentary in this House goes beyond what should be allowed with regard to defending the democracy that upholds this place, and it behoves us all to call out those who are supporting political groups and parties and governments that want to undermine the democracy in this House and the European Union, and all that we share, and the values that underpin us. It is shameful that we have this continual diatribe from over there with regard to being pro-Russian, anti‑Ukraine, and undermining the basic principles of this House. We need transparency, but we also need honesty.

Madam President, last week, the Russian spy ship Yantar, spotted in the UK waters, was heading to the Irish exclusive economic zone. The ship is specifically built for subsurface work, and so was seen as a threat to undersea cables and energy pipelines. This is the same boat that was escorted from Irish waters last November. It also coincides with the fact that President Zelenskyy is planning to come to Ireland on 2 December. We have had consistent monitoring of the cables off the southwest coast of Ireland, where some of the largest data flows between Europe and the US flow through our waters. It is incumbent on the Irish state – our navy and defence forces – supported by the European Union, to ensure that we have the capacity to observe, in Ireland's exclusive economic zone, what is happening both on the water and underwater. With that in mind, we have encouraged the Irish Government to increase spending in defence capabilities and in observation capabilities to ensure that we play our part in making sure that Europe is safe and protected from Russian aggression and from Russian threats of sabotage to critical infrastructure in the European Union.

Madam President, the agreement on the simplification of the InvestEU programme is something I welcome with open arms. Increasing the guarantee by EUR 2.9 billion will strengthen the InvestEU instrument and can help boost the EU's competitiveness. According to the Draghi report, the EU is facing an EUR 800 billion investment gap annually. A strengthened InvestEU can help mobilise much-needed public and private investment into a broad range of areas. In Ireland, where 50 000 people currently remain on social housing waiting lists – with 40 000 in defined housing distress – the expansion of the financial capacity of InvestEU could allow for much-needed investment in Ireland's social housing sector. This would not be unknown territory, Commissioner. Support for social housing is clearly EU policy. The InvestEU programme has previously provided up to 8 500 social housing units and renovations across the EU, and has supported Ireland's community, voluntary and social enterprise sector through its derivative social finance fund. Not only does the advancement of InvestEU efficiency make key EU objectives more attainable – reinforcing our alignment with EU priorities through green and sustainable impacts – by improving social investment for Ireland, it improves the synergy of our Union as a whole.

Mr President, I very much welcome the announcement of the European Democracy Shield and the EU Strategy for Civil Society. We have to protect our societies as importantly as our democracies – they are intertwined. But our minds and our freedoms cannot be for sale to the highest bidders. And, in that context, I really urge the Commission to continually support and underpin the DSA to ensure that it is not unravelled or intertwined in trade agreements. We simply cannot have a situation where our DSA is decided by others, rather than the democratic institutions that put it in place in the European Union. I am really concerned at some of the tone of the debate in this particular House – the way they dismiss Russian interference and interference in elections from outside the European Union. We simply must protect our democracies. From that perspective, Putin having any say in the context of democracy in the European Union must be defended against at all times. So, Commissioner, I urge you to ensure that the European Centre for Democratic Resilience, and in particular the foreign information manipulation and interference and disinformation, is taken seriously both in the context of Russia, but also other actors who are willing to undermine our democracies as well.

Mr President, there's a very simple principle when you join a club, a group or an organisation, or indeed our Union: you comply with the rules of law. In this case, Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union and the European Charter of Fundamental Rights. In Hungary, at the moment, we have attacks on rule of law and public institutions, freedom of media, attacks on civil society, attacks on people's sexual orientation, women and girls' reproductive rights, migration and asylum, and international justice. These are the harsh realities of life in Hungary under Orbán and Fidesz, and no amount of clapping or intimidation from over there (speaker gestures to the right of the House) will hide the fact that people in Hungary are already very concerned about the autocracy that is happening in Budapest. And if you only want to know why, all you are trying to do is find people over there to use, to drive divisions in society, in Hungary and across Europe. But the fact of the matter is, less people are going to Hungary and more people are leaving. And you should be asking yourself that question: why are the academics, why are the young people, why are so many Hungarians leaving Hungary to go to other countries within the European Union? I'll tell you why: because of oppression and economic stagnation, because of Orbán and Fidesz and his corrupt cronies.

Madam President, I welcome the conclusions of the European Council and its emphasis on competitiveness and decarbonisation, and the President referring to the fast, effective response that is required for the challenges ahead and some of the success that we have made in terms of the Paris Agreement, going from a projected 4°C increase to just a little over 1.5°C, and that we are bending the curve in a positive way. But the cost of electricity is causing competitive challenges across Europe, both in terms of industry but also in private homes as well. One of the most significant issues that we face in trying to address the issue of competitiveness and in ensuring that we have cheap electricity, is our planning and permitting systems across the entire European Union, Commissioner. If you look at the timelines, it is simply not acceptable that we are now talking about up to ten years before wind farms – from conception to completion – are delivered. That simply is putting huge costs on industry, uncertainty in investment, and undermining our capacity to deliver electricity at a reasonable cost and our support for renewables and cleaner energies. So, if the Commission is serious, we have to address every blockage, and primarily in the area of planning and permitting. I honestly believe it is not capital that is our challenge, but it is ourselves in terms of the red tape and the bureaucracy – not just at European level, but at Member State level as well. And I believe we now need to do a complete deep dive and an assessment of all Member States to see how we can assist them in removing blockages and permitting to infrastructural developments, primarily in the area of grid connectivity and renewables.

Madam President, equality between men and women is a fundamental principle of our Union. Yet right across our Union, in countries, women are objectified, subjugated, exploited and commodified, and we do need to take this very seriously. In Ireland alone, in 2024, there were 41 000 cases of domestic violence. Recently, Minister Jim O'Callaghan brought forward proposals with regard to a domestic violence register, to register people who have been convicted of domestic violence. Women need to know the backgrounds of their potential partners and this is a very welcome proposal. Also, we have to accept that online is now a cesspit of violence against women and girls, and it has to be addressed. We have the Digital Services Act, and we have other pieces of legislation, but we just have simply not taken this seriously. And the idea that we can have a situation where shared images are sent online, to the point where young girls are taking their lives because of this damaging harassment online – we simply have to take this seriously if we are to talk about equality and protecting girls and women, and certainly any legislation that would come forward in supporting women should also be supported by those that expose free speech.

Mr President, Commissioner, I welcome the publication of the work programme for 2026. I also welcome many of the aspects that are included from the Renew Group. You speak about competitiveness, cost of living, jobs, growth and investment, and research and innovation. Of course, the most fundamental issue that we need to address is the harmonisation and the deepening of the single market, coupled with the 28th regime and bringing forward the savings and investment union. If we do not achieve those things, we undermine all that we are trying to do in the context of this work programme, but more broadly. So over the next number of months, my group will play its part in ensuring that the work programme can move forward with speed, to react to the issues that you have outlined as being very serious. 'Draghi Plus' has been mentioned. Of course, Draghi is the Bible across Europe at the moment, but we do need to accept that there are many things in Draghi that need to be done quickly. Most fundamentally, the only way we can untap the single market and the private market is by bringing forward that savings and investment union. I hope that you put strong emphasis on that particular project. On an issue that is political, President von der Leyen, the people in this Chamber who are primarily supportive of this work programme sit from here to here, and it doesn't always work. You have an obligation, President, to ensure that the platform does work, and that we try and work from the centre out on the policies that you have outlined in your programme. Otherwise, you will have significant challenges in this Chamber in trying to get through a work programme that is critical to the citizens of Europe. So I do hope that strong emphasis will be put on the platform and ensuring that this programme goes ahead smoothly.

Madam President, I welcome the recent ceasefire. Calling it a peace process may be very ambitious, but we must welcome the fact that the massive attacks on Gaza have stopped. But we also have to expect that humanitarian aid has to flow immediately unhindered into Gaza. We also need to see an international observation and international peacekeeping force deployed rapidly to ensure that there are no further breaches from a military perspective. In any peace process, accountability is critically important in the longer term, but in the medium term what is significantly at issue is the recognition of Palestine as a state because, clearly, peace without hope will not last very long. I welcome this change and the slight change in tone in many European actors – particularly the Commission itself and some of the major European countries – around the need to support a two-state solution. But if we are to see the European Union play a role in the EU, it must play a positive role. It must not be afraid to say to Israel that the trade association agreement will be suspended if it does not honour its full commitments in terms of the ceasefire, promoting the peace plan, allowing humanitarian aid flow, and – just as importantly – the longer-term acceptance of a two-state solution.

Mr President, firstly, I would like to thank the author of the report, Michalis Hadjipantela, personally and professionally and his office as well, and I really appreciate the work he's put into this. We keep saying that to make Europe more competitive, we need to re-energize our European companies in the single market. But the companies I speak to in my constituency have boundless energy. However, they need to spend a lot of it on navigating complex regulation or overcoming regulatory hurdles. We also say that we need to motivate our companies to invest and grow, but the companies I speak to are not lacking in motivation. The issue is that they need to plough through a lot of their money in compliance costs. In fact, a European Commission study found that the annual tax compliance bill for companies in the EU and the UK stands at around 200 billion, and a disproportionate amount of this falls on to our small and medium-sized enterprises. I fully support this report on simplifying tax rules and addressing tax fragmentation. In this report, we take a very practical and feasible approach to simplifying the framework. Too often, this House immediately jumps to harmonisation as a solution to problems. But such an approach gets stuck in the weeds of politics in Council and Parliament, and there is no benefit to European companies. Instead, this report focuses on practical changes that can be made in the short term to ease the day to day processes of doing business. We need to streamline the framework and ensure certainty and predictability so our businesses can be confident in making decisions in the future. We need to improve the efficiency of tax administration and digitise where possible. And there should be a level of continuity amongst the interfaces of the different tax authorities, so when a company in Ireland engages with the authority in France, for example, there is a familiarity. So I want to commend the report and again thank the order and hope that we act upon it.

Madam President, on the anniversary of 7 October, we must remember the 1 200 people killed, the 251 hostages taken by Hamas, a terrorist organisation. We now need a ceasefire, a release of all hostages and humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza. And we need to support a two-state solution and a peace plan. But let us be under no illusions. This conflict did not start in the last number of years. This has been ongoing for decades. The continual undermining and encroaching of the Palestinian territories by Israel has been continually allowed by this institution and many others in the European Union. As I have said previously, Israel acts with impunity because we have granted it immunity. It is absolved from all its obligations under international law, under basic decency and humanity, and it continues to flout and we continue to bow our head and pretend we don't see. It is a shameful, shameful stain on this Parliament and on the institutions that make up the European Union. We have to act and stand in solidarity and support a two-state solution, and insist that Israel is held accountable...

Mr President, Commissioner Lahbib, gender inequality in our health system is systemic. It permeates from research through to diagnosis, from treatment to prognosis. There is a lot of research now which identifies the causes, both societal and medical. It is now for us as policymakers to address the root causes of these problems. The topic at hand today is endometriosis, a painful, progressive condition that can be debilitating at times and can affect fertility. It can plague women from their first menstrual cycle in their teens to their last menstrual cycle in life. It is estimated that 1 in 10 women, that's 14 million women in Europe and around 155 000 in Ireland alone. And on average, Commissioner, it takes about eight years for diagnosis. And that is a significant issue in itself alone. So there are promising studies taking place in Europe at the moment, including the University College, Cork, University College Dublin, that these studies are making more use of machine learning and AI to find novel ways to identify endometriosis and the means of easing the pain. I see four things we should strive for: increase the funding in female‑specific health issues, and identifying the differences in how symptoms present and reactions to treatments and drugs; move away from the male‑centric approach to treatment and listen to women and their experience, give them back control of their health and their treatment; make it not into a postcode lottery ‑ have common guidelines for treatment and for gender‑specific health issues across the EU; and eliminate the taboo, many gender‑specific health issues are mired in stigma and secrecy. Society needs to work to eliminate the stigma, and we can start by enshrining sexual and reproductive health rights in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Commissioner, I do have to say that I am worried sometimes from the tone of debates in this House and coming from some in the Commission as well, with regard to reproductive and sexual health rights for women. There can be no backsliding on this. There can be no weakening of a fundamental principle that a woman has a choice, and it is non-negotiable from my perspective. And I do find in terms of debates in this House, a disturbing drift to undermine all that we've achieved to ensure that women can make that choice. From an Irish perspective, we had this debate. We had a debate where we had to move from a very restrictive, aggressive view of a woman's entitlement to abortion services, where it was completely banned by our Constitution, to a point where we now facilitate and support choice. But I do detect at times, particularly in this House and from the right, may I say, that they are trying to undermine and roll back on this, and that I hope the Commission and this Parliament will continue to stand up and vindicate sexual, reproductive and health rights for women across the entirety of the Union and promote and facilitate the basic principle of women having a choice. It is, in my view, a fundamental aspect of what we are as a European Union in terms of ensuring that women are put first and centre in control of their lives. So while I support and ensure that we find funding for endometriosis in terms of research, I think the broader issue of ensuring that women are put at the centre of health and sexual‑reproductive rights is a fundamental principle on which I, or my group, will not be bend.

Madam President, first of all, I want to wish you, Prime Minister, and the Danish Presidency success over the next six months. Of course, you're taking over at a very strategic time in Europe's destiny in terms of the uncertainty of international challenges, geopolitical challenges and, of course, the continuous threat of security and defence from Russia in Ukraine and our eastern borders. So, I do want to wish you and your government well. Of course, the key issues that our citizens face on a daily basis are the issues that you refer to: competitiveness, the Green Deal, energy costs and ensuring that we have sustainable policies around housing. All very key and important areas. Renew, as you know, Prime Minister, visited Copenhagen recently, where we met with your government and engaged with them. Renew will always be a bridge‑builder. In fact, we will work as effectively as we can between the S&D and the EPP. At times, they do make it challenging, but we will continue to ensure that we have a pragmatic majority in this Parliament that can address the fundamental needs of the citizens. Very often, Prime Minister, the difficulty is that we come to challenges with ideological baggage. What we need to do is look at things in a practical, clear sense. So, the Draghi report, for example, is a template that has been handed to us that we must address with urgency – not just talk about the report itself, but actually implement what it says it must do in terms of competitiveness, the Green Deal, deepening the single market, addressing energy costs and ensuring that we remain competitive and start engaging internationally in multilateralism as well. These are the key fundamental issues that are facing citizens. One issue, Prime Minister, where I think you might look at it is single European skies. We have a situation where, continually, industrial disputes bring aviation to a standstill across Europe. It is a matter that affects jobs, competitiveness, citizens on holidays and business. I believe it is one key area that, if it was addressed, would send out a strong signal that Europe works for citizens, it works for competitiveness. So, I just hope that you take that specific issue on in terms of the single European skies, along with, obviously, the larger challenges that face the European Union. I wish you, your government and your people the best.

Madam President, I welcome the EU-China summit that's happening in the near future, because we do need a reset of relationships between the European Union and China. We need to have reciprocity. We need to have mutual respect and fairness. We need to have access to the Chinese market for European companies. We need to ensure that we wean our dependency off China in certain areas of raw materials and rare earths. And we need to insist on a rules-based order, an international rules-based order, the World Trade Organisation, the United Nations and the others that keep this world revolving around fairness and respect for each other. On the issue of Ukraine, we have to call it out straight: China is actively supporting Russia in the war in a European country. And that has to be said very loud and clearly. We can't have a situation where we dance around this particular fact. And until such time as China says clearly that they respect the international integrity of the Ukrainian borders, well, then we must always call them out. But I wish the summit well, because we do need a reset and we need to rebalance it, ensuring that it is in Europe's favour as well.

Mr President, I must say, it's weird that the far right have requested this debate and are attempting to portray attempts to digitise the European economy as dystopian. Perhaps they don't actually know what 'dystopian' really means. 'Dystopian' is defined as 'relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice'. Within the world of film and literature, there's a particular genre that focuses on how humanity will survive in dystopian societies. They all have some fairly common features: centralisation of power, erosion of privacy, erosion of rights, spreading of false information and propaganda, the incitement of fear and suspicion. These dystopian symptoms are sadly on the rise across Europe. However, it is nothing to do with the digitalisation of our society. These unkind and uncaring trends are all due to the underhanded, nasty, mean‑spirited actions of the far right who peddle lies, whip up fear and hate, and seek to divide rather than unite society. So, to the far right in this house, take a long, hard look at yourselves and your actions before lecturing the rest of us and seeking to make our lives, our citizens' lives, easier and more prosperous.

Madam President, we need to invest in the transnationalisation of our grid. We need a seamless transmission of electricity across the entire continent. The cost of electricity and energy is a significant threat to our collective competitiveness. At times, in certain parts of this European Union, we dump surplus electricity, rather than being able to use it in some other part of the continent. So we do need to ensure that we can transport energy across the continent. It will also drive down costs and increase our competitiveness. But we do need to ensure that we have a stable mix of electricity sources: solar, wind, nuclear, hydrogen storage, and obviously gas in the short to medium term as well. And that will ensure that we have base-loading and balance and grid stability, which is a very important component in the modern world. So from my perspective, I do want to see a great emphasis on an energy union, on investment in the transnationalisation of the grid and ensuring that when we do generate electricity, that we can use it for those that need it most in terms of our competitiveness, but certainly not in dumping electricity when we surplus production.

Madam President, 50 000 people dead in Gaza, hospitals targeted by bombs, schools attacked, the West Bank killings, displacements, illegal settlements, International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court rulings, fundamental breaches of international law, genocide in Gaza, using food and aid as a weapon of war – as a weapon of war. Israel acts with impunity because we have granted it immunity. We have done nothing to address the fundamental issues, which are that a two-state solution is required, that the Palestinians have an entitlement to statehood and their own lands, and that Israel has an entitlement to exist and defend itself. But we have always taken only one side in this debate. We are losing our moral authority. We are losing any shred of credibility. We have to act as an honest broker. The unconditional support by the President of the Commission to Israel simply is unacceptable, and a fundamental breach of trust and the Treaties on which this Union ...

Madam President, Commissioner Kadis, I would like to thank you for visiting Ireland recently, and meeting with stakeholders and particularly fishers in the west of Ireland and Castletownbere. I appreciate it and I know they appreciate the engagement as well. At the outset, the lawless exploitation and abuse of our oceans has to stop, and I hope that the European Ocean Pact is a policy that will bring about that change in mindset. From my perspective, when we talk about sustainable fishing, we have to address a very fundamental issue, Commissioner, and that is the fact that super-trawlers across the planet are industrial-scale fishing and exploiting stocks beyond sustainable capacities. So I believe that, if we are to have a review of the common fisheries policies, we have to look at the fact that we are overfishing in many areas. And that has predominantly been done by super-trawlers, as opposed to the smaller trawlers and coastal community fishers that are taking sustainable stocks from our seas. So any re-evaluation and review of the common fisheries policy must look at sustainable coastal communities, supporting our fishers, but certainly addressing the issue of the massive exploitation of fishing stocks across the globe and in European waters by super-trawlers.

Mr President, firstly, I welcome the strategy, Commissioner. Just to say at the outset: anything that takes burdens away from small and medium-sized businesses in terms of developing the growth trajectories is very welcome. So this particular strategy must be coupled with real action now. I know that a lot of us will have difficulties in Member States trying to protect national competences, and the fact that we have so much crossover with regard to oversight and regulation, and the interpretation of regulation in different jurisdictions. The fourth omnibus simplification package is very significant, of course, with regard to establishing a mid-sized CAP company, whereby companies that aren't multinational, yet are significant players, aren't burdened with the same obligations that we would place on massive multinationals. I very much welcome it. If we are to really exploit the single market though, we ultimately need to unleash a lot of capital, and that requires us to really embrace the concept of a banking union and a capital markets union. So, Commissioner, not only is this a very, very welcome process, but we have to underpin that with capital availability, and the capital markets union is one of the only ways we can do that, to prise out the trillions of dollars that are in deposit accounts across the European Union, doing nothing for the real economy. So I would urge that that would be a part of the policy as well.

Madam President, just to remind my colleagues over there: I wouldn't hold up China as a bastion of free speech or protection of civil liberties. I certainly wouldn't trust them with my data. So certainly, from that point of view, we should be very conscious of the need for democratic oversight to ensure that the data of European citizens is protected. The Irish Data Protection Commissioner did take very serious steps to sanction TikTok to ensure that they comply with the democratic rules expressed in this House and Member States across the European Union. So it's quite shameful to come in here and undermine the concept of what we're trying to do, which is protecting citizens and ensuring that their data is safe. I commend the Data Protection Commissioner for the efforts they made in ensuring there was a lengthy investigation, and they came up with the sanction and the fine. On the broader issue, Commissioner, we have to ensure that not only data protection but the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act are enforced. We need additional support to ensure that there is enforcement and that there are sanctions if there are breaches of those particular acts, particularly in the area of vulnerability and children. We certainly haven't done enough yet in Europe to ensure that their space is safe on digital platforms.

Madam President, for the last ten years, the interest rates on an Irish mortgage have been continuously higher than the EU average and at some times double the average. Likewise, an SME seeking a loan in Ireland has to pay considerably more than an SME on the continent. Commissioner, there are a few significant barriers that are of national competence, but equally also with regard to the risk weighting of assets. That is causing significant challenges for Irish banks in their obligations to retain additional capital because of legacy issues from the financial crisis of 2008 to 2010. If you look at the banks' balance sheets and their lending books, they are well capitalised, they have reduced their risks, bad loans are quite reduced, but yet, at the same time, we are consistently risk-weighted at the highest level, forcing Irish banks to retain additional capital and then putting further costs on them when it comes to lending. So I would urge, in the context of the Commission evaluating the banking sector's competitiveness and producing a report by 2026, that they would also look at these particular impediments to ensure that we open up the market competitively with the banking union, but also that we remove obstacles to banks lending in Ireland as well.

Madam President, having sufficient energy storage is not just a wise energy policy, it's also an issue of national security and European security. And we were sadly exposed when Russia invaded Ukraine and then decided to blackmail Europe in the context of using energy as a weapon. But Europe did react very, very positively in terms of bringing forward floating storage and regasification units and making themselves less dependent on Russian gas. But we must do more. From an Irish perspective, Ireland is an island nation. We are very dependent on interconnection. So from an issue of national security, in terms of energy, we all obviously had to set up a state-led strategic gas reserve to ensure that we were no longer fully dependent on the interconnectivity between the UK and Ireland, that we will have the ability to import liquefied natural gas from other sources. Sustainability, affordability and security are key issues in the medium term until we transition to renewable fuels. I do want to commend the Commission – as I am often very critical – on how they responded very, very quickly to the need to pivot from Russian fossil fuels.