What Billy spoke about.

12 Dec

2022

EN Speech

A long-term vision for the EU's rural areas (debate)

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Madam President, I welcome the report. At the outset I think we have to look at rural Europe from a very different perspective. For far too long we have been looking at as a theme park for people to visit and to look at from time to time. They are real communities with real people and we now have to accept that we have to do an awful lot more to ensure that the vibrancy of these communities is mai…

23 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Amending Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2020/2093 of 17 December 2020 laying down the multiannual financial framework for the years 2021 to 2027 - Amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 as regards the establishment of a diversified funding strategy as a general borrowing method - 'Macro-Financial Assistance+' instrument for providing support to Ukraine for 2023 (debate)

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(start of speech off mic) shrank by 35%. It is running a budget deficit of about 4 to 5 billion per month. So we do welcome this MFA+ to try and ensure that the very state and the functions of the state of Ukraine survive during this particular war. This particular fund will assist in keeping hospitals going, keeping the infrastructure going, paying basic salaries. But let us be very clear: Ukrain…

22 Nov

2022

EN Speech

System of own resources of the European Union (debate)

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Mr President, I welcome the Commission's proposals. It shows commitment to the interinstitutional agreement on own resources. I mean if we expect Europe to do more, we ask Europe to do more, well then we must be willing to fund it as well. We spoke today about 70 years of celebration of Parliament in Strasbourg, representing European citizens. So we have accountability in the context of a parliame…

10 Nov

2022

EN Speech

A high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (debate)

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Madam President, cyber—terrorism is a very real threat to both our economy and our society. Firstly, I’d like to congratulate and thank Bart Groothuis, my colleague, for his excellent work today and keeping cybersecurity at the top of the political agenda in my Group and in this Parliament. If people are in any doubt about what cyber—terrorism is, I would like to remind people that on 14 May 2021,…

9 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Digital finance: Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) - Digital Finance: Amending Directive regarding Digital Operational Resilience requirements (debate)

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Mr President, just again, to acknowledge Frances Fitzgerald, Alfred Sant, Bogdan Rzońca and José Gusmão as shadow rapporteurs for their cooperation and help on this file. This is about ensuring the integrity of our financial services, it’s about protecting the financial systems, but more importantly, it’s about protecting citizens. It’s about ensuring that citizens have confidence that their infor…

9 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Digital finance: Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) - Digital Finance: Amending Directive regarding Digital Operational Resilience requirements (debate)

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Madam President, first and foremost, I am delighted to be here presenting this particular report to Parliament. The financial sector has always been an attractive target for cyberattacks, given the potential lucrative gains, and cybersecurity, as all security has been a long—standing priority for the sector. However, the legal requirements and financial entities across the EU differed, depending o…

9 Nov

2022

EN Speech

Communication on ensuring availability and affordability of fertilisers (debate)

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Madam President, I welcome the statement from the Commission, but being truthful we have to live in the here and now in terms of food security and food supply, and a lot of the proposals and ideas coming forward from the Commission are looking beyond the immediate horizon. I mean the significant challenges are for the planting season next spring. Will there be sufficient amounts of fertilizer in p…

19 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Lukashenka regime's active role in the war against Ukraine (debate)

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Madam President, stolen elections, political prisoners incarcerated, abuse of basic human rights, the list is endless. We saw first—hand in 2020, when Lukashenko stole the election and effectively crushed the opposition. We stand with the people of Belarus in their hour. But we must do more. We must ensure that we bring forward sanctions, not against the Belarussian people but against the regime o…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Question Time (Commission) - Protecting critical infrastructure in the EU against attacks and countering hybrid attacks

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On the 14 May 2021, there was a devastating cyberattack on the Irish healthcare system, on the HSE. It ground it to a halt and cost lives in loss of data, loss of information, cancellation of appointments for people. So from that perspective, I just urge the Commission, knowing fully that they are very conscious of the threats in terms of cybersecurity, that this would be put front and centre as w…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Question Time (Commission) - Protecting critical infrastructure in the EU against attacks and countering hybrid attacks

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Europe’s age of innocence came crashing down around us on 24 February this year. But in advance of the invasion of Ukraine by our psychopathic neighbour in the Kremlin, the Russian navy were off the south—west coast of Ireland the previous month, in January 2022. They were observing undersea cables where the most dataflow between the United States of America, Europe and the UK takes place, where t…

18 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

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Mr President, these are not normal times. This is not a free market. This is a market that’s been held to ransom by Putin. So we do need to have extraordinary measures put in place. I very much welcome the proposals around a windfall tax. We do need to show in solidarity with citizens, with small businesses, with families that simply are unable to afford electricity bills and other gas utility bil…

17 Oct

2022

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, production of green hydrogen is inextricably linked to the availability of large quantities of renewable electricity. In an Irish context, that means implementing an ambitious offshore wind energy strategy with urgency. Green hydrogen will be the clean fuel that drives our long—distance public transport systems, our marine transport and heavy goods vehicles, and it will not only be e…

6 Oct

2022

EN Speech

The death of Mahsa Amini and the repression of women's rights protesters in Iran (B9-0425/2022, RC-B9-0434/2022, B9-0434/2022, B9-0435/2022, B9-0436/2022, B9-0439/2022, B9-0442/2022, B9-0455/2022)

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Mr President, on 16 September, Mahsa Amini, a 22 year old, died while in custody, detained by the morality police in Tehran. Now, I want to say at the very outset and what I say for the next number of seconds has nothing to do with being opposed to religions: it is about fundamental human rights. It’s about the right of women in any part of this globe to go about their lawful business without bein…

6 Oct

2022

EN Speech

COVID-19 – Sustaining EU preparedness and response: looking ahead (debate)

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Mr President, the COVID—19 pandemic showed our vulnerabilities as a collective in terms of Europe’s first response. But let’s be very honest, we did get our act together very, very quickly in terms of dealing with what was unknown at the time in terms of the pandemic. Certainly from now on, I believe that a collective effort is required by Member States when we want, first of all, to have vigilanc…

6 Oct

2022

EN Speech

The urgent need for an EU strategy on fertilisers to ensure food security in Europe (debate)

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Mr President, the true cost of the problem for consumers and farmers has not been fully evolved yet due to the fact that a lot of the crops this year were sown by input costs from last year. But now, as we unwind all of that into the marketplace, we’re going to see huge pressures on farm profitability, but more importantly, the pressures that will be on consumers through food inflation. This is go…

5 Oct

2022

EN Speech

The EU’s response to the increase in energy prices in Europe (RC-B9-0416/2022, B9-0416/2022, B9-0417/2022, B9-0418/2022, B9-0419/2022, B9-0420/2022, B9-0421/2022, B9-0422/2022)

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Mr President, this is a very important file, and it has real, tangible repercussions for citizens across Europe. I voted in favour of the potential cap on gas without being prescriptive. And I think it’s very important that the Commission comes forward with deep, meaningful proposals that make an assessment on the risks and the opportunities around the price cap. The first thing we have to do is t…

5 Oct

2022

EN Speech

Outcome of the Commission’s review of the 15-point action plan on trade and sustainable development (debate)

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Mr President, I welcome the outcome of the Commission’s review on the 15-point action plan on trade and sustainable development. There is no doubt, as the strongest economic trading bloc in the globe, we have obligations both to ourselves, but also to the broader world itself, in ensuring that standards are maintained and lifted. So we can’t have a situation where there is exploitation in third co…

15 Sep

2022

EN Speech

The situation in the Strait of Taiwan (RC-B9-0389/2022, B9-0389/2022, B9-0392/2022, B9-0394/2022, B9-0396/2022, B9-0398/2022, B9-0400/2022)

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Madam President, the European Union says it respects the One-China policy. Ireland stands for the One-China policy. I hope that the issues around the historical differences between Taiwan and China mainland itself can be resolved, but let us be very honest with ourselves. China’s track record, in terms of how it has addressed Hong Kong in recent years, would give grave concern to those living in T…

15 Sep

2022

EN Speech

Implementation of the Updated New Industrial Strategy for Europe: aligning spending to policy (A9-0214/2022 - Tom Berendsen)

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Madam President, I voted in favour of this report, and it does highlight the challenges facing Europe with regard to the COVID pandemic and now the Russian aggression in Ukraine. It shows that we are very reliant on international trading partners, and sometimes we are incapable of ensuring that we can have production within our own borders within the European Union. At the same time, I would be ve…

15 Sep

2022

EN Speech

State of the SME Union (debate)

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Madam President, SMEs are the backbone of the economy, we say, but they are also the backbone of social cohesion across the Union. They support our communities right throughout Member States and they are under significant pressure. And when we talk about regulations, red tape, the unwinding of all of these barriers, the most immediate challenge, Commissioner, is the lack of access to credit to add…

14 Sep

2022

EN Speech

Existence of a clear risk of a serious breach by Hungary of the values on which the Union is founded (debate)

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Mr President, membership of the European Union is based on shared commitment to common values as outlined in the Treaties. It’s about principles. It’s about deep values that we should cherish, democracy, equality, individual rights and freedoms, respect for the rule of law and free, independent media and judicial independence. Let us be very clear, Orbán and his party are not supporting and underp…

7 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Sustainable aviation fuels (ReFuelEU Aviation Initiative) (A9-0199/2022 - Søren Gade)

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Mr President, in making the decisions on this particular file I tried to stick as close as possible to the Commission proposals. Having consulted widely, being truthful with stakeholders, we concluded the original Commission proposal was the best option in terms of how we transition the aviation sector to a cleaner, greener future. And there is no doubt, I believe, that if we put the right policie…

7 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Developing an EU Cycling Strategy (debate)

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Mr President, I very much welcome the strategy. I think it’s a very positive development and I hope that the resources are put in place by Member States throughout the European Union to ensure that we have an integrated policy around cycling. Of course the real challenge here is that we want to address the climate issue, the climate change, and we want to ensure that cycling and bicycles are part …

6 Jul

2022

EN Speech

Facilitating export of Ukrainian agricultural products: key for Ukrainian economy and global food security (debate)

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Madam President, the blockade of the Black Sea ports by the Russians and by Putin is not just an attack on the Ukrainian economy, it is an attack on the food supply and security of populations across the entire globe. North Africa, the Middle East and many other areas that depend on commodity-type products for their staple diet – like wheat, like barley and like corn – will be fundamentally challe…

6 Jul

2022

EN Speech

The UK government’s unilateral introduction of the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and respect for international law (debate)

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Mr President, I want to thank the European Union, the Parliament, the Commission, the Council and all the constituent parts that make up Europe for the solidarity they have shown to Ireland, not only the Member State that is remaining within the European Union, but also for the part of our island that has been excluded from membership of the European Union – and that’s a very fundamental thought t…