What Regina spoke about.

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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The role of simple tax rules and tax fragmentation in European competitiveness (debate)

Mr President, first of all, I would like to congratulate Michalis on the great work that he's done. This is a really, really good report. But, Commissioner, you know that we have EUR 10 trillion worth of savings sitting across the European Union in bank accounts instead of being used for investment. If we used that money productively, we know it could support jobs. It could support infrastructure …

8

Oct

2025

EN Speech

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Promoting EU digital rules: protecting European sovereignty (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, Europeans just want to know the things that are illegal offline are illegal online. I think it's just as simple as that. The idea of threats from other parts of the world against EU officials for simply doing their job, as we saw this summer, is absolutely outrageous. I think we need to be serious; if Europe wants to be taken seriously, we need more than just rules. …

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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Taxation of large digital platforms in the light of international developments (debate)

Mr President, thank you Commissioner for joining us here this evening. I think we can all recall the scene from Scotland during the summer, where President von der Leyen painfully shook the hand of President Trump on a deal that only makes things harder and trade harder between the EU and the US. And I think it's in that context that we are discussing the principles that should govern global digit…

10

Sep

2025

EN Speech

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Package travel and linked travel arrangements: make the protection of travellers more effective and simplify and clarify certain aspects (debate)

Madam President, I think we all know how stressful it can be to book a holiday; you're trying to juggle your flights, your hotels, your transfers, and you're keeping your fingers crossed in the hopes that nothing goes wrong. But now, the new EU Package Travel Directive is designed to help make that process clearer, easier and much safer. It's going to cut down on red tape so that small businesses …

9

Jul

2025

EN Speech

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EU-US trade negotiations (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, I think we can all agree that free and open trade is good for everyone. It's the best way to make sure that we spread wealth and prosperity. So, it stands to reason that tariffs are bad for everybody and tariffs are going to make all our countries poorer. I'm glad that since the beginning of this ludicrous one‑man trade war, the EU and you particularly, have stood consi…

18

Jun

2025

EN Speech

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Electricity grids: the backbone of the EU energy system (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, we often talk about politics in terms of keeping the lights on, but when it comes to our energy infrastructure, this literally is what it's all about. Europe relies on energy always being available to run all of our vital appliances, light and heat our homes and our businesses, and keep the world as we know, and expect it to be, running. The last few years across Eur…

17

Jun

2025

EN Speech

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Situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, conflict in the Middle East has been a feature of our lives and on the news screens for many years now, for far too long. Many Europeans are so desensitised to the daily tragedies that they've kind of switched off, or they genuinely don't believe that we have a solution. But I don't think we should forget what instability in the Middle East really means, because the esc…

17

Jun

2025

EN Speech

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EU framework conditions for competitive, efficient and sustainable public transport services at all levels (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, for too many Europeans, major public transport developments can sometimes feel like being stuck in one big traffic jam: frustrating, never making any progress, and that's before we ever even talk about the increase in costs. That's honestly the case when it comes to MetroLink in Dublin. For literally my entire adult life, we have been talking about building a metro for …

21

May

2025

EN Speech

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Single Market Strategy (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, without doubt, the single market is Europe's greatest asset. It creates opportunities for businesses and workers, it allows us to raise living standards in all Member States and it gives us real influence in the world. But we know we have an awfully long way to go before its potential is fully reached. Today, the single market strategy is a good start, but we need actio…

8

May

2025

EN Speech

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Old challenges and new commercial practices in the internal market (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, when it comes to commercial practices, online is the only show in town. But when it comes to consumer fraud, online spaces still remain a Wild West. We need all actors on board to ensure that we have a shared responsibility. Because today, citizens in Europe are subject to fake advertising and online scams on a near daily basis, often via social media platforms. Our own…

2

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Recent legislative changes in Hungary and their impact on fundamental rights (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, today in Hungary loving just somebody that you love can get you branded a threat to the state, and that certainly isn't about protecting values, it's state-sponsored homophobia. The bill that was introduced to ban the Pride marches, to use facial-recognition technology and to fine anybody who dares to attend EUR 500 is not just repressive, it is absolutely shameful. In…

2

Apr

2025

EN Speech

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Topical debate (Rule 169) - Social Europe: making life affordable, protecting jobs, wages and health for all

Mr President, Commissioner, for millions of Europeans, the basics have become just simply unaffordable. In the 1980s, the average home in the EU cost about three times the average salary. Today in some cities, in my own capital city, sometimes it's more than eight times the average salary. Bills have increased and wages – even though they have been adjusted for inflation – have stagnated in too ma…

12

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Union of Skills: striving for more and better opportunities to study, train or work in the EU and to bring our talents back home (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, the Union of Skills must include everybody. Because for every mother who stepped away from her career to raise her children, for every woman who moved abroad but wants to bring her skills back home, and for every woman who took a career break and was told she has no longer got the skills, Europe has to do better. Women don't lose skills when they step away from the w…

10

Feb

2025

EN Speech

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European Central Bank – annual report 2024 (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, President Lagarde, we are here today discussing the ECB annual report. At times of enormous uncertainty, following on from Canada, Mexico and China, President Trump is threatening the EU with steep new tariffs. Billions of euros of investments and thousands of jobs depend on the trade between Europe and the United States. I have heard the concerns from people and busine…

23

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Cryptocurrencies - need for global standards (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, we have spent the last few months since I've been here intensively talking about the importance of innovation, and it is clear that, despite all of the risks it entails, crypto stems from a desire to innovate and operate outside traditional norms and structures. In general, legislators and regulators should focus on creating the conditions for innovation and sectors to…

21

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Need to enforce the Digital Services Act to protect democracy on social media platforms including against foreign interference and biased algorithms (debate)

Madam President, Commissioner, as Timothy Snyder said, 'to abandon facts is to abandon freedom'. In recent months, we have seen an election in the European Union suspended due to illegal content and manipulation of algorithms. We have US tech billionaires promoting far-right politicians in Europe and talking about taking down democratically elected governments in Europe. Now we see social media pl…

20

Jan

2025

EN Question

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Ceasefire in Gaza - the urgent need to release the hostages, to end the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and to pave the way for a two-state solution (debate)

Mr President, at the height of the Cold War, US President John F. Kennedy declared that peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. The ceasefire in Gaza must last. The eyes of the world must stay on the region, and the agreement should be followed by a new comprehensive political agreement of a two-state…

16

Dec

2024

EN Speech

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Activities of the European Ombudsman – annual report 2023 (debate)

Madam President, with democratic accountability under threat right across the world, including in some of our own Member States, I believe the role of the European Ombudsman has never been more important. EU citizens must feel that the institutions are not above scrutiny. And that is why I want to thank my own Irish colleague, Emily O'Reilly, for the service that she has given in this role for the…

25

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (debate)

Mr President, today we have to confront the harsh truth that violence against women is at global epidemic levels. It doesn't respect borders, class or race. Every day, women are harassed, beaten, assaulted and simply killed because of the fact that they are a woman. And it's not just a woman's issue; it's a human rights crisis at this stage. As a fellow Irish woman, I shouldn't know the names Jess…

21

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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A stronger Europe for safer products to better protect consumers and tackle unfair competition: boosting EU oversight in e-commerce and imports (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, EU consumer rights are worth absolutely nothing unless they are effectively enforced. We have made some progress with the General Product Safety Regulation, which is going to come into effect later on this year, and we are working on ambitious reforms, but it's not just about laws. The EU's many market surveillance authorities have to work together in order to take risk…

21

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU citizens (debate)

Madam President, Mr Letta, you're absolutely right when you say that the single market is the best tool that we have to increase opportunities, improve our well-being and the living standards for all of the citizens across the European Union. And we absolutely can't take it for granted, because if we do, it's going to fail. Your report, which is really welcome, helps to illuminate many of the curr…

9

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Ensuring sustainable, decent and affordable housing in Europe - encouraging investment, private property and public housing programmes (debate)

Mr President, I want to really welcome this debate today because housing supply is a real challenge in many Member States, as we can see from the contributions today. But we all know that home ownership is really good for society and, as legislators, I think we have to make sure that we do everything we can to make it a reality for all of our citizens. And whilst Member States' governments are at …

19

Sep

2024

EN Question

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The historic CJEU ruling on the Apple state aid case and its consequences (debate)

Mr President, good morning, Commissioner, the recent rulings bring to an end of this long-running case, and I think it's right that all parties respect the judgment of the European Court of Justice. However, I think it's important to clear up a number of misconceptions around this case. The case is hugely historic and only has relevance there relating to Revenue opinions from between 1991 and 2007…

18

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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Organised crime, a major threat to the internal security of the European Union and European citizens (topical debate)

Madam President, colleagues, this year, drug seizures at our airports, ports and other entry points in Ireland have more than doubled in comparison to last year. And on the one hand, that is welcome because our Gardaí, like police forces right across Europe, go above and beyond their duty to keep us safe. But on the other hand, it's a signal that organised crime, including the smuggling of illegal…

17

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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Global measures towards social media platforms - Strengthening the role of DSA and protecting democracy and freedom in the online sphere (debate)

Mr President, Commissioner, only 2 weeks ago, a survey of over 7 000 schoolchildren in Ireland showed that over a quarter of them had been impacted by harmful content online, including harassment, direct contact by strangers and exposure to unsolicited content. And as a mother to four young people, that fills me with real fear and dread. And this is one of the reasons why the Digital Services Act …