What Billy spoke about.

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Written Statements EN

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 voted by an overwhelming majority to repeal the Eight Amendment, demonstrating our commitment to providing safe and legal options for women and girls seeking abortions, and safeguarding their sexual health and reproductive rights. We acknowledge that highly restrictive laws prohibiting abortion do not necessarily reduce the need for abortions, but result in women having to seek clandestine abortions, travel in order to obtain abortions or carry their pregnancy to term against their will, which is a violation of their human rights. We are therefore deeply concerned to see this development in Texas, and we call on representatives of the State of Texas to swiftly repeal Senate Bill 8. In addition, we expect the Federal Government and US Supreme Court to do everything within their power to vindicate a woman’s right to choose, as protected by Roe v Wade.

20

May

2026

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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 in the areas of coercion, domestic violence and sexual violence. So while we have this framework in place, we do need to ensure that across Member States there is a sea change around the issue of domestic violence and coercion. We recently saw a case in Ireland that was a tragic case with regard to Nicola Hanney, who made a complaint to the Garda Ombudsman, and yet there was very little action taken. And if we want action taken, we do need to ensure that the authorities and those agencies that are charged with the responsibility of investigation, they must build trust among the broader public. So victims will have confidence to go there in the first place. On the issue in Ireland, for example, it is estimated that only 5 % of adults who have experienced sexual violence reported to the police ‑ only 5 %. We have a long way to go. This is a step, but we have many steps to take.

19

May

2026

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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 importantly, the price of fertiliser. And that is having a profound impact on profitability and on farming practices and crop rotation. But equally, on top of that, this is now going to fall into consumers right across the globe in terms of food inflation. So, the short term obligations are on us to address immediately and that would be the issue of the suspension of CBAM, the emissions trading scheme and any other areas of policy that are putting burdens and cost on fertiliser in the short term. In the medium term, we obviously have to expand our own internal capacity to ensure that we have adequate fertiliser. And of course, the longer term is to address the whole issue of the types of fertiliser we use. But in the short term, Commissioner, the plan you have outlined is welcomed, but we do have to suspend anything that puts additional costs on the price of fertiliser to farmers and increasing food prices for consumers.

29

Apr

2026

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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 have abandoned it. Irish troops have served bravely as UNIFIL members in southern Lebanon for many years. UNIFIL will be leaving at the end of this year but, as it stands, we will be leaving a region in turmoil. Is it too much for us in this House to ask for the implementation of a ceasefire, to support peace efforts and humanitarian access? Is it too much for us to ask Israel to comply with international law? Israel acts with impunity because we have granted it immunity. It simply can disobey any international law and humanitarian standards, and bomb and kill people at will – while we know that, at the end of the day, a diplomatic effort is required to bring stability to the region and security to Israel.

29

Apr

2026

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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 citizens? Households, SMEs, farmers and industry are all suffering. Energy prices have been abnormally high for over four years, pushing up fertiliser, food prices and the cost of doing business and this results in reduced living standards. We must double down on renewables and – especially in Ireland's case – offshore wind, solar and biogas. We must end the taboo in certain Member States, including my own, about the potential for nuclear energy. Yes, there are many challenges with moving to renewables. We are too slow at permitting, too slow at building, but the alternative is to allow the Ayatollah, Putin or President Trump to control our shared futures. Only when our economies are powered by secure, carbon‑free electricity will we be able to stop worrying about the whims and actions of dictators and unreliable partners, the conflicts they entangle the world in, and the damage they can do to our living standards.

27

Apr

2026

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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 invest. For example, the introduction of the savings and investment account in each Member State will provide a simple vehicle for investment. Improving the financial literacy of EU citizens is a cornerstone for strengthening the capital markets and making the EU economy more sustainable. Financial literacy is not only about knowing how to invest in stocks and shares, it's about knowing how to manage a household budget. It is about understanding the compound interest of your mortgage. It is an entrepreneur having the knowledge and the confidence to take out a business loan. It is a young person understanding the importance of having a pension and the options for building this over time. I strongly support this report and the multifaceted approach it recommends. We need to combine lifelong learning with education, targeting adults or vulnerable communities to complement traditional education with new channels, to use both private and public sector initiatives, and to acknowledge the potential role of influencers as ambassadors for financial literacy, while stamping down on the misleading practices.

27

Apr

2026

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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 consent at the heart of any proposals to ensure that all citizens in every Member State can have their bodily integrity vindicated in the case of being violated. We look at the statistics, they're very, very clear. We have a situation in here, where some elements try to portray violence against women in various steps and degrees of severity. You know: close family members isn't as bad as a migrant. They are all equally abhorrent, and we must deal with them based on the fact that if a woman says 'no', she means 'no'; and 'yes' has to be at the centre of any consensual sexual relationships or intimacy. I find it appalling that we have different scales of severity of rape being portrayed in this House.

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 focuses on security and defence, and whilst it is understandable that the EIB has expanded its financing in security and defence given the circumstances and threats we face, we cannot lose sight of the other long‑term strategic priorities. These are essential to make Europe a more competitive, more resilient place and for improving the lives of our citizens. Just this month alone, the EIB agreed to back a EUR 260 million solar portfolio across Ireland, which will see the construction of four new solar projects. This is a crucial development towards our energy security and a pertinent investment given the high energy costs households are facing. The EIB and the Commission also announced a new financing package of more than EUR 600 million to support urgent reconstruction projects in Ukraine, and lent EUR 20 million to a Swedish biotechnology company to enable its expansion of stem cell technologies, targeting diseases such as type 1 diabetes, Parkinson's disease and heart failure. While our economies are increasingly under pressure, this is the type of support we must continue to champion.

26

Mar

2026

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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 eyes of workers and businesses across the European Union. They need certainty in a very uncertain time. EUR 4.6 billion is traded daily across the Atlantic in goods and services, and anything that gives confidence to this particular trade agreement I very much welcome. I also believe that we have to be firm in saying to President Trump and the US administration that respect is critically important in this particular trade agreement. We have to have confidence that they stand by their word as well. Time will tell, but in the meantime, we must play our part to ensure that we stand firm with regard to what was agreed in Turnberry and that we insist, from the United States's perspective, that they also honour the commitments with regard to Turnberry. On the issue of steel and aluminium, yes, there is a need for us to continue to negotiate in those particular areas, but at the moment certainty is what is required for businesses and workers.

25

Mar

2026

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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 parallel universes. The people who are complaining about our moves to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels are the same people that have been championing Orbán and Putin inside in this Chamber and, even more recently, President Trump. The fact of the matter is that the increases in energy prices are primarily because of the war in Ukraine that Putin started five years ago and in the context of Netanyahu and President Trump invading Iran. They are simple, indisputable facts. The idea that we would be more dependent on fossil fuels simply would mean that we would have craven people like Orbán, who would be kowtowing consistently to Putin, trying to ensure that he can receive cheap oil and gas from that dictatorship. It is clearly important that we stand firm with the people of Ukraine, with the government of Ukraine in providing the EUR 90 billion loan for 2026 and 2027 and, more importantly, that we deal with people who are treacherous to the principles and the values of this particular Parliament, of the European Union in general, and the people of the European Union. It is shameful that people are justifying Orbán's most recent kowtowing to Putin. It is a sinful, shameful act of treason to European values.

11

Mar

2026

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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 are founded, on upholding law and the rule of law, well the very least we should do is first and foremost condemn the sanctions placed on ICC members, but more importantly, bring forward the blocking statute to address some of the personal concerns for the individuals that have been sanctioned. More importantly, the International Criminal Court deals with international crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, crimes of aggression and war crimes. The reasons these sanctions were placed were stated by President Trump himself when he signed the sanctions themselves, when he said it is an attack on the US and on Israel. Now, by any credible stretch of the imagination, what the ICC is doing is holding Israel to account and many other actors as well that have been involved in genocide, in war crimes in the Middle East – and that includes leaders of Hamas as well. So they have been impartial in addressing those particular issues. It is a shameful act, and we should deal with it very quickly.

11

Mar

2026

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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 effectively using private capital to invest in projects in infrastructural development, in stimulating the acceleration of small and medium-sized businesses and creating job opportunities across the European Union. It is about making Europe more competitive, and I cannot understand why people on the left or people on the extreme right could object to the concept of making Europe more competitive and creating job certainty. So I would urge all concerned to look at this from the purpose of what it is about. Certainly, if we have an opportunity to debate this in the near future, we should also look at it in the context of the Draghi report and what is highlighted with regard to the deficiencies in the investment gap. We certainly do not need any further political stagnation, bureaucratic paralysis. What we need now is action to bring forward the savings and investments union. If those countries are too slow to move with this, we do need to move ahead without them, but still encourage them to stay in our coat-tails so they can eventually catch up.

11

Mar

2026

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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 follow through with regard to timelines and the monitoring of Member States. Clearly, this is not just about transitioning. It's also about making Europe resilient and less reliant on fossil fuels from the areas that we can no longer geopolitically depend on. But more importantly, we need to get competitive. And to be competitive, we have to have cheaper electricity for our industries and for our homes as well. So while we welcome this, we have to ensure that there is strong monitoring. From an Irish perspective, we still have significant challenges, Commissioner, in the area of planning and permitting, and we also need greater connectivity to the UK and then, obviously, into the European Union itself as well. So we would appreciate those commitments in the Hamburg Declaration which ...

11

Mar

2026

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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 multilateralism and international rules‑based order? Because we are a rules‑based order here in the European Union and we claim to live by the UN Charter and international law. It is clearly evident that what is happening in the Middle East is not within the confines of the UN Charter. So, let's at least be honest with ourselves: we either are going to accept the international rules‑based order and defend it, or else we are going to abandon it. President Trump has acted unilaterally on a number of occasions. From the point of view of the European Union, we have had the situation with regard to an attack on the sovereignty of a Member State in terms of Denmark. We have had a situation where we have had on and off support for Ukraine from President Trump. This is a war that is at our front, the eastern front. Simply, we are the ones that will be faced with either the success or failure of Ukraine. Equally, in the context of the Middle East, it will be Europe that will be the one that will be most likely affected. We have already seen an attack on Cyprus itself. The displacement of people – if the displacement of people starts from the Middle East, they will end up in Europe. These are the real questions that we have to ask ourselves when we are talking about the UN Charter, multilateralism and respect for international law. Clearly, I believe that this particular war in the Middle East is not within those confines.

10

Mar

2026

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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 that states and local authorities are conspiring to stop the development of homes by the fact that the planning and the permitting system in Ireland and across most of Europe is a significant challenge to developing homes. Whether they are for the private sector, for the rental sector or for social housing, it simply is impossible at the moment to get homes through the planning process in Ireland. I also welcome the fact that the reform of the state aid rules is included in this report. That is a significant issue and I believe those on the left should really look at this as an issue that we fought hard to ensure would be included because that would give flexibility to Member States to fund local authority social and affordable housing. So, I very much welcome that. The issue of the single market and building ...

9

Mar

2026

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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 evident at the very beginning of a woman's career. A recent study in Ireland has shown that a 25-year-old man earns, on average, EUR 50 more per week than his female counterpart. These figures show to serve that differences cannot be explained away by differences in experience or the impact of career breaks. They show that the inequalities are ingrained in the system and must be rooted out. These inequalities are compounded over the decades. In 2025, the average pay rise for men in Ireland was 6.5 %, compared to 5.4 % for women. Continuously repeated over a career of several decades, this eventually amounts to an even greater pension gap of 25 % in the EU and a huge 31 % in Ireland. It's very sad, finally, that we still have a situation where we are inside this Parliament consistently negotiating women's rights and begging the right to be more understanding of the need to ensure that we have equality. I do want to say to the centre in this House that we have an obligation to ensure that we do not play with equality from over there, and we stand firm on the issue of equality from the centre out, rather than from the right over there.

9

Mar

2026

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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 the European Research Area. 3 % of GDP is an ambitious target. And clearly, obviously with diversion of funds in recent times for security and defence, we still have to be ambitious in trying to insist on that target being met in the short and medium term. With regard to academia, working with industry and government in ensuring that you have creative research, innovative research, cutting-edge research and then the spin off of that out into the commercial world is something that we are not as good as other countries. And if you look at what has happened in recent years, the large companies, those that have grown rapidly in recent years have all been founded out in the United States or in Asia. And we do have an awful lot of work to do to make sure that not only do we have the academic research, but that we can innovate and spawn that out into the commercial world. I welcome this very much and hope that it is followed through with the underpinning proposals.

9

Mar

2026

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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 cases it is because due diligence in terms of the impact new EU legislation would have on overall EU economies and broader society was not carried out properly. Take, for example, the Nature Restoration Law. Yes, an impact assessment was carried out in terms of how the legislation would impact on biodiversity and climate objectives. However, no detailed impact assessment was carried out in terms of the law's impact on land usage, farming, housing development and energy infrastructure. That is why I really welcome this own-initiative report and compliment the author for high-quality legislative drafting proposals, robust economic assessments and systemic ex-post evaluation. Citizens expect legislators to get things right first time around and not to waste time cleaning up badly drafted and poorly justified legislation without proper impact assessments.

12

Feb

2026

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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 homicides are committed by their partner or family, this is the case for 11 % of male homicides. The people who are trying to stoke fear and distrust towards asylum seekers and migrants are the same people who will vote today to water down the Parliament's priorities for the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. They will try to water down calls to ensure better access to the judicial system. They will try to water down ensuring greater representation of women in the judicial system. They will try to deny calls to introduce a consent-based definition of rape. I call on my colleagues in this House and for the Member State governments not to let this narrative take hold. Let us send out a very clear and strong message that women's rights are enforceable. In fact, they should be non-negotiable. But tragically, inside this House, we have people who are willing to sell out and undermine half the population of this globe and undermine their rights. Let you be heard, I say to the women. You will be believed and you will have access to justice.

11

Feb

2026

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State violence in Minneapolis and the rule of law in the United States (topical debate)

Madam President, the scenes of harassment and intimidation, with multiple breaches of people's human rights across the United States in recent months is heart-breaking for those of us who view the United States positively and have fond connections and memories and visit the country regularly. Illegal arrests, detentions without trial, state-overseen murders are now all the hallmarks of US immigration. Policy that is now more akin to something that we would have seen in the Soviet dictatorship than in the supposed 'land of the free'. Madam president, I want to raise the case of Seamus Culleton, originally from Kilkenny, Ireland, who has lived in the United States since 2009 and is married to a US citizen. He owns a construction business in Boston, employing many Americans and Irish Americans. He was arrested in September in Massachusetts and has been detained by ICE since that time in Texas. The case in the US system resulted in him being ordered released after a bond was paid, and then having that release order revoked. He's being detained in what can only be described as inhumane conditions for political reasons. Until President Trump returned to office, Mr Culleton's case wasn't on anyone's radar. Like many Irish Americans, he was in the process of regularising his immigration status. Like others, my office has raised Seamus' detention and detainment with the Taoiseach and the Irish Government, and I hope that he will be released as soon as possible so he can get on with his life and that of his family.

11

Feb

2026

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Urgent actions to revive EU competitiveness, deepen the EU Single Market and reduce the cost of living - from the Draghi report to reality (debate)

Madam President, it's good that within this Parliament, there is a clear focus on the need to boost European competitiveness. The Renew Group wholeheartedly supports the Draghi report. Of course, every MEP and every Member State may have issues with certain parts, but the overall trajectory of Draghi is something we must all sign up to and sign up to fast. We have spent 18 months now reading the Draghi report. It is time that we put the report down and started implementing what it requests of us. There is an investment gap of about EUR 800 billion per annum that we need to fill, and that needs to be filled by a number of key factors and policy changes. The savings and investments union is a critical component. In every assessment, we have to unlock the capital that's tied up in deposit accounts across the European Union and get it into the real economy. The other issue, of course, is what we call deregulation or simplification. Some people see deregulation as a risk and a threat. Others see it as a golden opportunity to unwind ambition. What we really need is to simplify, to take the burden away from small and medium-sized businesses so they can get on with their job of innovating and creating opportunity and employment. So I don't see it as a one or the other. What we must do is just distil down the regulations that are there to ensure that it doesn't cost a small and medium-sized business, you know, 20 % of its overall labour force complying with national regulation and European regulation. So it is clearly time for us to address that issue and simplify both at national level and European level. The 28th regime is not a key area that we have to address very quickly. The single market is not deep. Let's be very honest: the single market is fragmented. There is no free movement of capital. There is no free movement of financial services. Even goods, at times, are still facing difficulties in transiting across the European Union. So we have to start looking at the 28th regime and give the opportunity to small and medium-sized businesses to work beyond their country in a truly European fashion. So I call for immediate simplification, ensuring that the 28th regime moves smoothly, and that the savings and investments union is brought forward with urgency to ensure that Europe can grow again.

10

Feb

2026

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Presentation of the action plan against cyberbullying (debate)

Mr President, cyberbullying is abhorrent. It is in general faceless, but it causes untold distress, harm and, tragically, loss of life in each and every one of our countries. Bullying of any form is a cowardly act that usually covers up for the bully's own failings and insecurities as a person. The easiest and simple way to curtail cyberbullying, and indeed most problems on social media, is to ban anonymous accounts. If you want to post on social media, your ID needs to be stored and verified by the company. By all means, call yourself and your account '@Patriot1916', but if you bully a child, incite hatred, threaten people, be warned: we will know who you are and your Member State's legal system will deal with you in accordance with the law. No doubt that when this video goes on X, I will be attacked by the Second Amendment‑waving US free‑speech heroes. Sorry guys, the EU does not have unlimited right to free speech. Stop trying to impose your country's legal system into our European Union. We care about young people and vulnerable sections of society. We can no longer allow serious harm caused by social media and cyberbullying to continue.

22

Jan

2026

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A new action plan to implement the European Pillar of Social Rights (debate)

Madam President, the Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights has been a good driver for implementing the necessary changes for the digital and green transitions, but progress is too slow. The need for greater action and pace has been compounded by the boom in the use of AI, as well as the geopolitical uncertainties. But in the context of the social pillar itself, and the social rights around housing and homelessness, I just want to focus in for a while, Commissioner. There is genuine concern that we could fracture society – the cohesiveness – across Europe if we don't address the increasing scarcity of affordable housing to citizens. Rising rents, and the inability for us to get housing and home developments through the planning and the permitting system in many countries, is causing huge difficulties for local authorities and states to provide social and affordable homes to citizens. This is really having a major impact across many countries. I know we have a Commissioner for Housing and that we have a Housing Committee established in this Chamber, but we do need to focus in on ensuring that we remove as many blockages on developing homes, so that we have homes for people who can afford them, for people who need support, and for those in homelessness, so the State can afford to build homes for people in homelessness as well.

21

Jan

2026

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European Council meeting (joint debate)

Mr President, at the outset, I welcome the statement by the President of the Council and the President of the Commission regarding the fact that we are determined to insist on international rules‑based order, multilateralism and the UN Charter, and ensuring that Europe plays its part in being a reliable partner in that context and in that architecture. Reference has been made to Ukraine and we have to ensure that we support Ukraine – both the European Union, NATO and its allies – to insist that the integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine is protected. That means continual financial support, as was announced with the EUR 90 billion common European loan for Ukraine. But if we are to be genuine about international rules‑based order, it cannot be à la carte. We have to insist on international rules‑based order in every conflict, in every aspect of life. That means we have to insist on international rules‑based order in Gaza as well and we have to insist that Israel complies with international law when we are dealing with Gaza. President, I find it very hard to listen to people in this Chamber, particularly from the far right, advocating for President Trump. When President Trump is using the wine producers in Italy and in France as leverage to beat us, when President Trump is using the car factory workers in Munich, in Slovakia and in other countries right across the European Union, when he is using their jobs as a battering ram to threaten us, it is incomprehensible that you could be supporting a President of the United States who wants to undermine everything we are trying to achieve in the European Union. If you don't believe me, just go to President Trump's US national security strategy and scroll down to see where he says promoting European greatness and then takes a sledgehammer to everything that we stand for here in this European Union. It is quite shameful and hard to understand. So again, I say, go back to your constituents, go back to your voters and tell them that it is your icon, it is your hero that is threatening their jobs.

20

Jan

2026

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Tackling AI deepfakes and sexual exploitation on social media by making full use of the EU’s digital rules (debate)

Madam President, when there was high fives at the headquarters of X and Grok over the last number of weeks celebrating the fact that they had so many hits because of the AI-generated deepfakes of sexually explicit material, it sends a very chilling message for me as an elected public representative in this Parliament and not a faceless bureaucrat or not a faceless tycoon who sits behind the paywall of X promoting such visual, sexualised content. I find it deeply offensive that we're in a position here where we are now saying that protection of free speech requires us to allow Elon Musk and others with large social media platforms to promote soiled child sexual abuse imagery. It simply doesn't make sense from any perspective to come into this Chamber and say that Elon Musk is a defender of free speech. It was exploitation at its highest level because this was fundamentally about making money out of sexual exploitation in increasing hits on Grok and X. And if you want to be sure of it, just look at what Elon Musk said when it was initially brought to his attention after Christmas: he put up a smiley emoji – a smiley emoji. Dismissing child sexual abuse is a shameful thing and, unfortunately, is happening too regularly in this House as well.