What Aodhán spoke about.

6 Oct

2026

EN Question

Affordable Housing Act (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, conservatives here say the market will fix the housing crisis. The right to property is all they defend. In Dublin, we see tourists in family homes, families in hotel rooms, children in emergency accommodation, doing homework on fire escapes, young adults stuck in their childhood bedrooms, communities deprived of essential workers – all caused by a heartless m…

5 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Psychosocial risks, stress and mental health at work (debate)

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Madam President, Irish workers are at breaking point – rents up, food up, energy up. Hundreds of thousands of workers dreading Christmas because they are suffocating. They feel that our government does not have their back, and they are right. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael do not care about workers. Public sector workers have no pay deal for the first time in 40 years and have been forced into industri…

8 Jul

2026

EN Speech

The EU’s role in the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip and the accountability of Israel under international law (topical debate)

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Mr President, Minister Byrne, I have a simple question: what do we mean when we say 'respect for human rights'? It is the foundation of our European project and a legal obligation under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. It doesn't mean the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian children, reducing the city of Gaza to rubble, turning what's left into an open-air prison the world…

7 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Presentation of the programme of activities of the Irish Presidency (debate)

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Madam President, Taoiseach, I want to start by wishing you luck. If you succeed, we will all succeed as Irish people and European citizens. This is a presidency which has to deliver on key issues facing Ireland and Europe. None among them are bigger than housing. During this presidency, the Commission will bring forward an Affordable Housing Act because we in the S&D Group demanded it. You failed …

20 May

2026

EN Speech

Recent proposals to fight poverty in the EU (debate)

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Mr President, poverty is the most profound, grinding insecurity anyone can face. Yet the only security we deal with urgently is at our borders. The only competitiveness we care about is market share. The only simplification we deliver is for business. Millions of Europeans compete for survival, for a simple roof over their head, for a fair wage for their child's next meal. Commissioner, we welcome…

29 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Situation in Lebanon: implementation of the ceasefire, support peace efforts and humanitarian access (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, you were warned. We were warned. We were told that if Israel were allowed to commit genocide in Gaza, it would not stop there. Next would be the West Bank, Iran, Lebanon – and today that is what we are witnessing. In Lebanon, entire neighbourhoods have been levelled – 2 500 people killed and almost 8 000 wounded by Israeli bombs. In this House, we rightly say that Ukraine…

10 Mar

2026

EN Speech

Housing crisis in the European Union with the aim of proposing solutions for decent, sustainable and affordable housing (debate)

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Madam President, little baby Declan – that's not his name, but his story is real – sleeps in a cot beside my own daughter in a Dublin maternity hospital. As parents of premature babies, we have similar emotions: concern, fear, love and joy. Declan is so similar to our Róisín but, unlike Róisín, Declan has been born into homelessness, emergency accommodation – a homeless baby. Two tiny babies side …

11 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Developing a new EU anti-poverty strategy (debate)

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Madam President, poverty is a word that should rock the foundations of the European Union. It is a word that should grind these institutions to a halt. Poverty is violence – a violence to humanity, to democracy, to our political credibility. It is a thief. It robs children of their childhoods and its scars last a lifetime – the memory of hunger, of cold, of anxiety and, most cruelly, of humiliatio…

11 Feb

2026

EN Speech

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

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Madam President, no Irish, no blacks, no dogs. The signs posted in boarding houses in England in the 1950s and 60s. No Irish, no blacks, no dogs. Of all countries, Ireland should understand immigration. We know what it is to be the outsider, the undocumented, the unwelcome. That is why we have an historic responsibility to stand against those who terrorise the immigrants at home and abroad. Trump'…

20 Jan

2026

EN Speech

Situation in Venezuela following the extraction of Maduro and the need to ensure a peaceful democratic transition (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner Kallas, we are witnessing the descent of the United States into fascism: a president who rejects election results, incites insurrection, attacks the judiciary and the media, has an armed militia intimidating minorities, who kidnaps foreign leaders and threatens the sovereignty of others. If Trump smells weakness from the EU, it's because when the US or Israel break in…

26 Nov

2025

EN Speech

Implementation of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (debate)

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Madam President, after years lost in the fog of Brexit, EU-UK relations are beginning to clear. Step by step, we are rebuilding trust. In a world as fractured as ours, Europe and the UK cannot afford to drift apart. Brexit has shaken the delicate balance that allowed for a shared European identity in Northern Ireland – an identity that softened old divides and underpinned peace. The European birth…

7 Oct

2025

EN Speech

The EU’s role in supporting the recent peace efforts for Gaza and a two-state solution (debate)

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Madam President, Europe, the world's greatest peace project, must not stand by as Trump and Netanyahu design a toxic plan for Palestine. Europe must take inspiration from the humanity of the Sumud flotilla, not the cowering submission of President von der Leyen. Her failure of leadership is why I will support Thursday's motion of censure from the Left. We must return to the vision of a two‑state s…

10 Sep

2025

EN Question

State of the Union (debate)

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Madam President, like millions of others in our Union, I believe in Europe. Together we believe in a Europe based on social justice, on human rights and on solidarity – a Europe that is a voice for good in the world. President von der Leyen, we do not believe in you. You bow to Trump's bullying, you roll back on climate commitments and, for all your rhetoric, you cooperate with the far right. And …

9 Jul

2025

EN Speech

Case of Ryan Cornelius in Dubai

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Mr President, colleagues, we are doing something this Parliament doesn't do often: speaking with one voice united. We are united in demanding justice for Ryan Cornelius. Ryan is the 71‑year‑old British national married to an Irish and EU citizen. He's been locked up in a Dubai prison since 2008 in what the UN has branded as an arbitrary and unlawful detention. Originally sentenced to 10 years, his…

8 Jul

2025

EN Speech

Situation in the Middle East (debate)

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First of all, High Representative Kallas must apologise for her recent contributions to Irish history. She said that our experience is not the same as those in the West, those who lost their culture and languages. She needs to study Irish history and question why English is spoken in Ireland and why violence, hunger and poverty, her High Representative, have led to millions of people with Irish su…

17 Jun

2025

EN Speech

Situation in the Middle East (joint debate)

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Mr President, High Representative, why does the Commission say they care about the rights of children, unless they are Palestinian? Why do they say they care about hunger, unless it is in Gaza? Why do they say to defend international law, until it is violated by Israel? High Representative, Europeans have had enough of this hypocrisy. Europe's leaders only offer silence and shame instead of condem…

6 May

2025

EN Speech

A unified EU response to unjustified US trade measures and global trade opportunities for the EU (debate)

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Mr President, 80 000 Irish jobs at risk. Last week, as we marked May Day, Trump's reckless tariffs cast a shadow over workers and businesses across Europe. The full impact is unclear, but what is clear is that unless we act, it's workers who will pay the price. We saw this in 2008, when families bore the brunt of the crash, and we can't let that happen again. We must protect those who keep our eco…

5 May

2025

EN Speech

Preparation of the EU-UK summit (debate)

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Madam President, as the world feels more fragile than ever, the upcoming UK‑EU summit cannot be a photo opportunity. It is a chance to show what kind of Europe and what kind of world we want to build. Trump's foreign policy is rooted in egomania. As the US steps back, Europe and the UK must step forward; we must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and in defence of freedom and democracy. But our valu…

1 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Dramatic situation in Gaza and the need for an immediate return to the full implementation of the ceasefire and hostage release agreement (debate)

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Madam President, Israel continues to commit the greatest evil the world has witnessed in recent memory. Two weeks ago, we debated its use of starvation as a weapon of war. This week we witnessed the targeting of healthcare workers and rescuers in Gaza – a mass grave discovered containing 15 humanitarian workers executed one by one, buried by an Israeli bulldozer. Their crime: wearing the red cresc…

1 Apr

2025

EN Speech

Conclusions of the European Council meeting of 20 March 2025 (debate)

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Madam President, the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic hailed support from our exiled children in America and our gallant allies in Europe. We never thought we would have to choose between them, but we do. We don't know what tariffs may come this week. Workers and businesses in Ireland potentially face the worst economic shock since the crash of 2008. But Europe must stand united. For too lo…

11 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Deteriorating situation in Gaza following the non-extension of the ceasefire (debate)

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Madam President, Israel's breach of the ceasefire, cutting off electricity, food and fuel to over 2 million people is a calculated act of collective punishment, a violation of international law. For 10 consecutive days, starvation has become a weapon of war, and the EU Commission responds by continuing to hold meetings of the EU-Israel Association Council. Business as usual. This is a disgrace! It…

10 Mar

2025

EN Speech

Cutting red tape and simplifying business in the EU: the first Omnibus proposals (debate)

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Madam President, the 'simplification agenda' – like most right-wing phrases, it sounds so benign, but it is also very dangerous. Right-wing politicians are experts at presenting themselves as responsible and sensible, but it is the politics of the right that have plunged Europe into disaster after disaster. Right-wing politics gave us the banking and economic crash, the climate crisis, the rise of…

21 Jan

2025

EN Speech

Geopolitical and economic implications for the transatlantic relations under the new Trump administration (debate)

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Mr President, yesterday we witnessed the inauguration of a man whose ideology embodies everything the EU was founded to reject. The EU cannot just stand for our values when it is easy. It matters most when it comes at a cost. Standing up to Trump will come with a cost, but it is much less than the cost of letting this poison win. I am done with the niceties from EU leaders to Trump, while his tech…

20 Jan

2025

EN Speech

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)

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Mr President, this ceasefire offers the people of Gaza a moment to breathe after fifteen months of horror. The task of rebuilding Gaza requires Europe's full commitment to help Palestinians restore their lives with dignity. It is the EU's moral duty. The future of Gaza's 650 000 children depends on getting back into UNRWA's schools, many of which lie in rubble today. And frankly, I am disgusted at…

19 Dec

2024

EN Speech

Need to update the European strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities (debate)

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Madam President, the rate of employment for the 100 million people with disabilities across the EU is just 51 %. This means that tens of millions of Europeans who want to contribute and have so much to offer are being excluded from our labour market. Ireland is one of the worst performers when it comes to the rate of people with disabilities in employment, at just 32 %. Last week, it was my great …