Speeches

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, first of all I would like to applaud the many Irish artists who have refused to participate in the South by Southwest Festival over the issue of US Army sponsorship. It is correct to shift the focus onto the issue of arms exports to Israel. Last month, the US Senate approved a military aid package of USD 14.5 billion. I can only summarise the official EU and US policy as one of wanting well-fed corpses. Providing aid to Gaza with one hand and bombs to Israel with the other is absurd. Gripped by a long-overdue crisis of conscience, the US and the EU make great play of airdrops, maritime corridors and calls for Israel to open new humanitarian routes. What is the logic here? Do they really think that innocent Gazan women and children will be grateful for aid sent to them by the same people that supply arms targeted at them? I would be embarrassed and ashamed to be associated with such a perverse policy.

Mr. President, I wish everyone a warm greeting on St. Patrick's Day. It's Irish language week in Ireland and many people around the world do their best throughout the week to use our own language. First of all, I would like to thank the authors of this report. It is, in my view, a very important topic. Most importantly, European money is available to help with rising costs. There are a lot of families under pressure at this time. But where is the Irish government's request for the RRF? Why didn't they ask for the money? Why is Ireland's application delayed? Now we have to make a hurry.

Madam President, Commissioner, and colleagues, externalisation is the current popular approach. The UK recently – this week – struck an agreement with Libya. Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to Libya. It says if you are in Libya against this advice, you should seek to leave immediately by any practical means. The irony of this paradox is not lost on anybody. This advice, of course, applies only to UK citizens. So what do migrants face in Tunisia? They face racism against black Africans, sexual harassment, police beatings, separation from family members – all comprehensively documented and all comprehensively ignored by the Commission. All of this is swept aside for political expediency. Sadly, when you become far right to defeat the far right, you have already lost and they have won.

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, this morning I listened to a presentation on sustainable global supply chains from the SWP, a think tank in Germany, and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation described its own government’s position on this directive as an embarrassment. At no point did the German Government or my colleagues in the FDP indicate that they intended to kill this directive. Even what is proposed now by the Belgian Presidency would bring just 40 Irish companies within its scope. This is not corporate accountability, frankly. Sustainable global supply chains – of which this directive, alongside the Critical Raw Materials Act, plays a significant part – are critical to the twin transition. Creating secure supply chains and just supply chains must go hand in hand. For me, and in general terms, global supply chains represent the final step of decolonisation. It means empowering our partners in the Global South to add value to their vast natural resources. And this can be reconciled with the need for EU competitiveness, and diversified and resilient supply chains.

Commissioner, I have a very specific question about media blackouts in the immediate 24 hours before elections. I think you will say that this is a matter for Member States, that it’s a national competence – and that’s probably correct. Nevertheless, I would like to hear what the Commission has to say about the vacuum that is created by the 24-hour media blackouts, the vulnerability that it creates for our democracies, where there is a ban on public discussion in the media about the election that is going to take place within 24 hours. And of course, as we heard in the last debate, artificial intelligence has the capacity to really supercharge this kind of disinformation in the 24 hours before an election. It’s much harder to detect. It’s in the hands of many, many people. And we have seen examples of it: both in 2017, with the famous ‘Macron leaks’ period, and also in 2020 in the US election. So my question is: do you have any plan to communicate with Member States ahead of the European Parliament elections about what I consider to be a ridiculous 24-hour media blackout period?

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, sanctions work and are working against Russia when it is estimated that it has lost greater than EUR 400 billion from its economy as a result of EU sanctions, thus restricting its capacity to pursue its imperialist and illegal war in Ukraine. This directive is aimed at circumvention and I would expect also a strong focus on the subsidiaries of EU companies. I would ask the Commission to give serious consideration to the establishment of an EU office focused on circumvention and implementation of sanctions at Member State level, as recommended by the EU Sanctions Envoy, David O’Sullivan. The one glaring omission from the wide range of sanctions deployed by the EU is Israel. Given the German Foreign Ministry last week tweeted its condemnation of the expansion of West Bank settlements, describing it in its tweet as a grave violation of international humanitarian law, with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaching the level of a famine and children starving to death, it is towering hypocrisy for the EU to exclude this crisis from its programme of sanctions.

Mr President, much of the discussion in Ireland is about naval capacity, but the recommendation we’re debating today makes no mention of naval capability, and there is no way that Ireland could – or should – survey or police subsea cables, which are for the most part not in our territorial waters, and in any case privately owned. Whether we like it or not, we will have to cooperate with partners like the UK, Iceland and other EU Member States, and partners have made it clear that they want to work through NATO. It’s not about joining NATO, but about cooperating in a flexible way with NATO on exchange of information and situation analysis. Finally, Ireland can make a significant contribution to the new expert group referred to in the recommendation. We can provide information, carry out risk assessments and cable mapping, and cooperate with the expert group in this way. And we can also work on fast approval of planning and licensing applications, which otherwise are holding up the work of securing resilient submarine cables. Finally, I think we need to press the Commission expert group for recognition of cable projects of European interest in Ireland and associated funding.

Madam President, I want to add my voice of support to the campaign against the extradition of Julian Assange. I have very little faith in the quality of US justice. However, I want to focus on the second part of this debate: the implications on freedom of the press, because some of the sponsors of this debate are themselves no strangers to attacks on the press. One of the Irish parties of the left, Sinn Féin, identify that the extradition of Mr Assange is an attempt to suppress journalism. But this is the same party that was accused just a few weeks ago of deliberately targeting the media. According to a letter signed by the National Union of Journalists, Pen International and Reporters Without Borders, ‘the number of legal actions that have been filed by Sinn Féin members points to a coordinated campaign against the media in Ireland’. According to Index on Censorship, a UK-based watchdog: ‘We are not aware of members of any other Irish party taking a comparable number of concurrent cases against the media in recent years’. The other Irish MEPs on the left have a bit of form when it comes to suing media outlets as well. What we need is an honest debate about media freedom. We can’t choose the journalists that cover our activities as politicians.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, I want to talk today about evidence. There is sadly widespread evidence of starvation in Gaza, and especially in the north and especially among children. There is evidence of deliberate obstacles being put in the way of the delivery of humanitarian aid by the Israeli authorities, described yesterday by the UN rapporteur on the right to food as a war crime. By contrast, according to Sigrid Kaag, in her presentation to the Foreign Affairs Council, here in the EU, there is no evidence whatsoever to back up the claim by Israel that 12 UNRWA staff took part in the horrors of 7 October. Equally, there is no evidence to support Israel’s claim that 10 % of UNRWA’s staff have links to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad. EU Member States have ignored this paradox and the ECJ has directed that immediate and effective efforts be made to deliver aid. Since that judgement was delivered, aid has fallen by half. So I implore Member States to make decisions not based on punitive political considerations, but on evidence. And I implore the Commission to disperse in full its commitment to support the UN replaceable and heroic work of UNRWA.

Madam President, already in 2024, Irish road deaths have almost exceeded the total number of deaths on the roads in 2019. The main causes are phone usage, speeding and not wearing seatbelts. The police also say that all of the success in the campaign against driving while under the influence of alcohol has been wiped out by a huge increase in driving under the influence of drugs. I have read many analyses of this sudden and tragic increase in road deaths. Nowhere have I seen it suggested that a good way to tackle this would be by increasing the number of medical tests for older drivers. That is why I strongly welcome the renewed focus on updating the directive and was strongly opposed to the measure on medical tests and the validity of licences for older people. Let’s look at penalties for speeding and mobile phone usage. Let’s look at increased police presence at speed limits and mandatory drug testing. Targeting older drivers is looking in the wrong place for the right answers.

Mr President, the attempt by the right in this hemicycle to kill the nature restoration law is shameful. We need to work together to restore nature, which is our lifeline. There’s too much at stake tomorrow and rejection cannot be an option. We cannot kick away the biodiversity pillar of the Green Deal. We have seen and witnessed the collapse of Europe’s natural systems. More than 80 % of European habitats have vulnerable status and this applies equally to Ireland. Voting in favour of nature restoration tomorrow will give us the opportunity to contribute to a truly historic and pivotal piece of legislation that will improve the lives of people for generations and generations to come. And one of the most important reasons for supporting nature restoration is economic. It seems to escape the right in this hemicycle that the economy and nature don’t compete: they complement one another. That’s why 1 400 businesses wrote a letter of support of the law and according to the EU’s own impact assessment, the costs upon which opponents exclusively focus is EUR 150 billion, whereas the benefits are likely to be EUR 1.8 trillion.

Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues, like the last speaker, I am a former schoolteacher and can personally attest to the challenging but incredibly rewarding nature of the teaching profession. However, the rising cost of living, long commutes and rising populations have led to a teacher retention crisis across the European Union. A recent survey carried out by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland showed 64% of schools have unfilled vacancies, and another by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) showed 75% of schools surveyed received no applications for teaching posts advertised. This is affecting the most vulnerable and special education disproportionately. Free school books for the junior cycle and the Public Sector Pay Agreement are very welcome, but I would encourage the Irish Government to engage with unions on disputes about incremental payments for teachers returning from abroad. Ireland performs extremely well on PISA surveys, and such engagement would be a practical recognition of that performance.

– Mr President, Commissioner, colleagues. First of all, we don’t know who carried out these attacks; nobody has claimed responsibility for them. If – as is suspected – it is Fulani herders, that maybe should have informed the drafting of the ECR resolution, which makes no reference whatsoever to the conflicts between herders and pastoralists in the area where these despicable attacks happened. There is no doubt that there is jihadi violence; nobody denies that. However, we need to look at the deeper symptoms of it, and the deeper symptoms of it are poor governance, corruption and the absence of the rule of law. We had an election last year in Nigeria that fell very, very far short of the standards Nigeria set for itself. What has the EU done in response to the corruption that was carried out in that election? Almost nothing. We shouldn’t be surprised to find these symptoms at large in Nigeria. This resolution falls very far short of what is expected of a proper debate about the complexities of what’s happening in Nigeria.

Madam President, Minister, Commissioner, colleagues, the Digital Services Act will create a safer digital space in which all users are protected. And I look forward to its full commencement on 17 February. It will protect against hate speech and disinformation and protect our democracies. It will hold online platforms accountable so that our democracies can be a marketplace of ideas. Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Irish Constitution and vindicated in Irish courts. In the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, Ireland ranked second in the world. The great Irish leader, Daniel O'Connell, said almost 200 years ago, ‘I am the friend of liberty in every clime, class, colour and creed’. In 2024, almost 200 years later, it is, incredibly, even more important than ever to protect that same liberty. Last November, as buses burned in the centre of Dublin city, an individual sought out foreigners to attack. Rapid dissemination of inflammatory content online became a catalyst for real-world violence. However, I am conflicted about Ireland’s own hate speech legislation. On the one hand, Elon Musk says he will fund a legal challenge to the proposal, which in my book means it must be very good. On the other hand, our existing incitement to hatred legislation is barely enforced, and the Digital Services Act surely changes everything. So I would encourage the Irish Government to carry out an urgent review of the proposal in light of the forthcoming commencement of the Digital Services Act.

Mr President, the Commission cites democratic values as the first core principle of the Global Gateway policy. But I am struggling to see how this initiative is democratic. Firstly, it was not conceived in a democratic way, with the European Parliament frozen out of the implementation of the policy, and the responsible Commissioner has never appeared in this Parliament to account for the implementation of the policy. Secondly, I do not see how the policy is supposed to foster democracy. Only 2 of the 46 partner countries can be considered high-performance democracies. So what we are left with is the naive hope that economic growth fosters some kind of democratic spirit. We know from the histories of China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other countries that this is a myth. And thirdly, we have a business advisory group which has met now with 60 members, some connected with the Chinese state and none of them from the Global South. So we need – and I agree with Ms González in this regard – more transparency, we need more community development agreements, and we need stronger conditionality. Otherwise, we are vulnerable to the accusation of hypocrisy and double standards, undermining the EU’s credibility.

Madam President, listening to the debate it is clear that the allegations against MEP Ždanoka that she provided far-ranging assistance to Russian intelligence services came as no surprise to anyone in this Hemicycle and, of course, there is multiple evidence of Russian interference throughout this European Parliament, and it is set out in multiple reports. Yet no one has been more aligned to MEP Ždanoka than the two Irish MEPs of Independents 4 Change. They have tried to brush it off as guilt by association, but they travelled with her to defend a Lithuanian diplomat convicted of spying for Russia. With only 11 other MEPs, they voted not to condemn Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. They posed for photographs and attended webinars with her. So why is it not legitimate to ask: did you have your suspicions? Or are you so naive that you didn’t have any suspicions at all? What a shame it is that Ireland elects MEPs making excuses for Kremlin aggression and Putin’s relentless campaign to undermine European elections.

Mr President, two words: plausible and credible. Not much difference, you would think. By an overwhelming majority, the judges of the International Court of Justice found that South Africa’s claim that Israel had breached certain articles of the Genocide Convention to be ‘plausible’. So what did European governments do on the finding of plausible genocide acts? Nothing. The following day, and hardly coincidentally, an intelligence assessment found that 12 UNWRA staff out of 13 000 were possibly involved in the horrors of 7 October. A US assessment found this to be ‘credible’. What did EU governments do on the finding of credible intelligence assessment? They cut off humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza at a time of maximum vulnerability. Well, I think it is both plausible and credible that these governments stand complicit in the war crime of collective punishment of the people of Gaza.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, despite it only being five weeks into 2024, 18 people have already lost their lives on Irish roads this year. 2023 had the highest fatality rate in nearly a decade in Ireland, made worse by a substantial increase in the number of deaths of young people. The Road Safety Authority in Ireland has noted that this isn’t just an Irish phenomenon. All over Europe, there has been an increase in fatal crashes since the end of COVID. A recent study by Eurostat found that road fatalities in the EU have increased by 6% after a decade of continuous decline. A new EU directive to extend driving disqualifications is very welcome. To ensure road safety and effective enforcement of road safety regulations, it is crucial that the EU takes a consistent approach to recognising and enforcing driver disqualifications across the Member States. Public awareness campaigns to inform EU citizens of mutual recognition of disqualifications is absolutely essential. Mounting fatalities on both Irish and EU roads have increased the urgency of these measures.

Madam President, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the formation of a new government in Northern Ireland at the weekend. This was a very historic occasion. Michelle O’Neill was elected to be the first nationalist leader of Northern Ireland in its 100-year history. I’d like to also congratulate our former MEP colleague Naomi Long, who resumes her duties as Minister for Justice, and Matthew O’Toole, who will lead the Opposition in the new Northern Ireland Assembly. I would encourage the EU institutions at the earliest time to invite the new First Minister and Deputy First Minister to Brussels, particularly to focus on governance arrangements, and also to engage with their UK colleagues on a potential investment conference, so Northern Ireland can really take advantage of its dual market access to bring peace and prosperity to all of the communities in Northern Ireland.

Madam President, Commissioner and colleagues, I want to commend the report of the rapporteur. I wasn't a shadow, but I was very struck by your comments earlier, and the way in which chaos can lead to populism, destitution can lead to populism. I think, if anything, the very thoughtful recommendations contained in this report should really make the Commission sit up straight, and I very much hope that it takes the findings of this report very seriously. The cost of living crisis that is currently occurring is not one of equal opportunity. A recent survey in Ireland found that the cost of living crisis is having a disproportionate effect on women, who account for 6 in 10 of those with the lowest quality of life. The same survey found that 46% of women in Ireland are less happy with their financial situation, compared to 54% of men. So why is there a gender aspect to the rising cost of living? Women are highly represented in precarious jobs. They have lower incomes and wealth due to the gender pay, pension and participation gaps, and are still bearing a disproportionate burden of unpaid work. The cost of living crisis has a female face, as the rapporteur has said, and the European Union needs to deliver on its promise to leave no one behind.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues. We should never tire of condemning Hamas and the way in which they have conducted this war with no regard whatsoever for the civilians in Gaza. However, I want to focus on the humanitarian situation. Israel has blamed variously the United Nations, the Egyptian authorities, NGOs and Gazans themselves for the failure to deliver humanitarian aid, blaming – and I quote – ‘the capability of the international organisations inside Gaza to receive this aid’. The facts on the ground do not bear this out. Israel operates a dual-use list that it has not published, and no humanitarian organisation has had sight of. Trucks previously cleared for entry can be turned back arbitrarily if a single item is rejected. For example, absurdly, a tent pole in an Irish aid consignment, the entire consignment has to go back and be unloaded and reloaded. There are those who say, ‘let’s talk positively’, ‘what are the positive proposals’? But Israel has repeatedly rejected calls to internationalise the inspection process. It is therefore impossible not to conclude that Israel is deliberately frustrating the distribution of humanitarian aid. We need a ceasefire immediately.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, I had the honour to run two NGOs in Ireland over the course of my career. I just wanted to introduce a note of reality to this debate. The amount of compliance, governance and regulatory scrutiny that NGOs have to undergo throughout any EU funding project is well beyond anything that I’ve heard referenced in this debate. In addition, the work of monitoring and evaluation to ensure that funds are applied to the correct beneficiaries is also extraordinary. There is also extensive work on impact assessment in order to show a critical component of all logic frameworks that NGOs in receipt of EU funding operate. So yes, we have to really, properly scrutinise the question of sham NGOs that have been subject to influence operations. But we could end up undermining, not restoring, public trust in NGOs. NGOs have the unique ability to articulate society’s conscience, to bring to light issues that would not otherwise attract public attention, and to speak for those without a voice.

Mr President, Commissioner and colleagues, happy new year. We can’t have a green transition without consumers being fully empowered. As the effects of climate change become more real and deadly, consumers are demanding to make empowered choices. Green products, sustainable practices and ethical sourcing are what a new generation of consumers want, and yet we actually make it more difficult for consumers to make these types of informed choices. Greenwashing and its consequences are a scourge. For too long, manufacturers have been able to claim that their product is sustainable or ethically sourced without requiring proof. This new legislation is a clear sign of action that the EU is prepared to give consumers proper information. Now consumers can rely on clear labelling. Generic environmental labels such as ‘biodegradable’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘climate neutral’ will be prohibited. Consumers will now have to be informed which products are more durable and reparable, and real consequences for traders and companies which do not abide by these laws. To achieve a truly sustainable economy, we must empower consumers.

Vice President, Commissioner and colleagues, there’s no doubt that young people are worse off than previous generations and struggling to meet their basic needs. Addressing the housing and cost-of-living crisis is immensely complex, but one angle that is often overlooked is that of vacancy. In Ireland particularly, commercial property vacancy is at an all-time high and yet we are struggling to meet housing needs. The impacts of vacancy go beyond housing. Firstly, the more derelict sites we have, the fewer spaces are dedicated as cultural venues, as marketplaces, meeting points or independent businesses. Secondly, converting vacancy to occupancy means less carbon emissions than new builds. And thirdly, as we have seen in Dublin recently, crime is closely related with vacancy due to the absence of footfall and the activities of daily life. I believe we have not yet realised the extent of vacancy and Europe can lead. First, we need an EU common methodology for collecting data on vacancy. Second, the EU could also lead in rethinking office spaces: 60% of Dublin’s vacant buildings are commercial. Tackling vacancy would be one of the most efficient ways of providing alternative and greener sources of accommodation, of revitalising our communities and of making our cities safer for young and old.

Madam President, Commissioner, colleagues, they say that cobalt is the new oil. And depending on where you lie in the political spectrum, you may react differently to this statement. For some people, this is good news. It means the green transition is well underway. For others, it is an unwelcome sign of change. I think of what this means for Africa and it makes me uneasy. The vast majority of the world’s critical raw materials are concentrated in Africa. As is widely known, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces 70% of the world’s cobalt. Of course, this abundance is a huge opportunity for these developing countries, a chance to take a huge leap forward. But have we Europeans learned the lessons of history from Europe’s colonial past and the moral implications of fostering resource dependency? I am afraid we have forgotten all about the resource curse, the paradox of an abundance of natural resources delivering little by way of prosperity for local and indigenous people. This morning’s agreement at COP28 to transition away from fossil fuels underlines the urgency to provide safeguards for the next phase of extractive industry. What is to stop cobalt from becoming the new oil? What is to stop the EU from facilitating this as we try to get ahead in the critical raw materials race? This time we must do things differently. We must carry out real and effective due diligence. I want to thank the shadows for their work in this opinion, and I’m sure they won’t mind me paying particular tribute to the late Michèle Rivasi, who brought her usual passion and straight talking to this file. My sincere sympathies to her family and friends.