What Ciaran spoke about.

8 Oct

2026

EN Speech

EU strategies for islands, coastal communities and outermost regions (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, I want to speak to you today about our small offshore islands. In Ireland, they are home to approximately 2 500 people year round. However, they have no local authority specifically working for them at all. And on several of these islands, there is no secondary school, so the children leave home at the age of 12. It is quite cruel. I spoke to Tuuli from Inishbofin Devel…

6 Oct

2026

EN Speech

Affordable Housing Act (debate)

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Mr President, Commissioner, Minister, the rising cost of housing has become one of the defining political challenges of a generation. Minister, in your own county, Hannah Clarke from St Vincent de Paul in Navan in County Meath told me that where once they were asked to help with food and heat, today they are being asked to help with rent and eviction notices. In County Galway, Carina, a mother of …

5 Oct

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, I want to talk about the manosphere – that rotten online industry that packages misogyny as masculinity, self-improvement and even success. It exploits male insecurity, promises wealth and status, while blaming women and equality. This is simply not online ranting; it's a business model monetising male insecurity. As a father of a teenager, I'm worried. I'm worried about research fro…

14 Sep

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, the scourge of TB is having not just an economic effect on farmers; it's having a devastating psychological one. Niamh from County Roscommon wrote to me in a state of desperation about the fate of the remaining 27 cows on their farm, now destined for slaughter because of this disease. But she begs me to tell you that their removal cannot be the whole answer when an infection conti…

14 Sep

2026

EN Speech

Establishing the Union Customs Code and the European Union Customs Authority (debate)

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Madam President, thank you to the rapporteur for the work that has been done on this Union Customs Code. I look forward to it offering greater legal certainty and, indeed, uniformity to businesses and increasing clarity for customs officials throughout the EU. On a related matter, I would like to ask the Trade Commissioner about the implementation of the Mercosur trade agreement and customs‑relate…

9 Jul

2026

EN Speech

Evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy and follow-up (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, this planned reform of common fisheries policy is not just a test for fisheries, in my mind. It is a test for fairness and trust in Europe. As a result of Brexit, Irish fishermen lost quota, and boats were decommissioned. And then last December, when Ireland needed help, the long‑established Hague preferences – that safeguard meant to protect us in a quota crisis – w…

7 Jul

2026

EN Speech

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

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Madam President, Taoiseach, one of your priorities for Ireland's Presidency is to strengthen Europe's competitiveness while protecting balanced regional development. As you begin today to steer the negotiations on the new long-term EU budget, will you commit that Ireland will not support a deal which sidelines cohesion and rural development funds in favour of narrowly defined competitiveness spend…

6 Jul

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, the COVID‑19 pandemic is over, but the scars remain. This week, I met with Care Champions, an independent Irish advocacy organisation representing people who were affected both in the community and in care homes. I met Angela Moore, who lost both her parents within 13 weeks of each other. The staff who were looking after them could no longer enter her house because of a public health…

19 May

2026

EN Speech

Presentation of the Fertilisers Action Plan (debate)

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Madam President, the European Union is facing one of the most serious food security challenges in modern times. Nobody doubts this now. The war in Ukraine, instability in the Middle East and rising oil, gas, fuel and fertiliser costs are directly threatening food production across Europe. Farmers in Ireland, Commissioner, they tell me clearly that the economics of sowing crops simply does not add …

18 May

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, 700 000 people die every year from sepsis in the EU, and 3 000 deaths in Ireland are linked to this condition: that's eight deaths per day in a very small country. Sepsis is a medical emergency and requires immediate hospitalisation, yet some people are still blissfully unaware of it – they don't recognise it. I recently met with Cathriona Flanagan and Hannah Tormey, who were at the …

30 Apr

2026

EN Speech

How to secure a sustainable future for the EU livestock sector in light of the need to ensure food security, farmers’ resilience and the challenges posed by animal diseases? (debate)

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Mr President, colleagues, let's be honest about it. As human beings, we have all long benefited from meat consumption. Livestock production has stood the test of time because it delivers for quality nutrition and, face it, food security in Europe. But we must remove emotion from this debate. Innovation has a place, but it must be based on facts, science and respect for farmers – the part-time ones…

28 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Interim report on the proposal for the multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 (debate)

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Mr President, this is a defining moment for the European Parliament and for the future direction of the European Union. The next seven‑year budget is crucial to give stability to citizens, to farmers, to regions and to businesses in the challenging times in which we live. Our position must be clear. I'm going to be specific. The new multiannual financial framework must be set at a minimum, Commiss…

27 Apr

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, the annual inflation rate in Ireland surged to 3.6 % in March. Food prices there are 12 % above the EU27 average. In the city of Galway, I've been talking to students and low-income families who are severely affected. A student-operated food bank at the University of Galway has been forced to turn away hundreds of students from its pantry every week as the cost-of-living crisis de…

27 Apr

2026

EN Speech

Financial literacy and the rise of finfluencers in the context of the savings and investments union (debate)

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Madam President, two lines from a television advertisement in 2007: 'I don't know what a tracker mortgage is. I don't understand what APR is.' They were delivered on the back of a bus in a TV ad – my first taste of financial literacy. Regrettably, we didn't get enough of it in Ireland. In a short period of time, the financial regulator who made the ad found himself dealing with a much more serious…

25 Mar

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Madam President, Commissioner, across the EU, our police forces are made up of brave men and women who uphold the rule of law and protect us. Retired Garda Cyril Smith and the late Thomas Britton, from County Monaghan, were two of those honoured this week with a Scott Medal for tackling an armed and dangerous criminal. We honour them now, even though while they were serving we didn't afford them t…

11 Mar

2026

EN Speech

AccessibleEU and the strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities: state of play and the future of EU accessibility policy (debate)

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Madam President, when I speak to disability campaigners, they tell me the same thing – they want to live independently. Yet society and Europe are not helping them. Samantha told me this in Keenagh, County Longford, last year. She needs a disabled parking area, but it is not available. These are basic issues. This is why the AccessibleEU resource centre is important in supporting that access for p…

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, Commissioner, it is one of the greatest crises of your lifetime and mine. Over the past eight years, average house prices around the EU have risen by nearly half, while rents have climbed by nearly a fifth. In many households, the costs of housing every month make up 40 % of the expenditure now. It is just not possible to go on. Many citizens are unable to find proper accommodatio…

9 Mar

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, Commissioner, our farmers, contractors and road hauliers are facing a very serious costs and overheads crisis, which could have really serious implications. I warned here that the arrival of the CBAM tax at ports would lead to a steady increase in fertiliser costs in Europe, and it has: some prices have now increased by up to 17 % since January last year. And of course, this week's e…

10 Feb

2026

EN Speech

Extreme weather events in particular in Portugal, southern Italy, Malta and Greece: European response in strengthening readiness, preparedness and solidarity mechanisms (debate)

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Madam President, ladies and gentlemen, the citizens of Europe have been hit unexpectedly by extreme weather conditions far too many times. We all remember the turbo-floods that struck Valencia back in 2024. Again, this week, we see Spain and Portugal hit by a third deadly storm in only two weeks. Our thoughts go out to those affected in these countries. Indeed, in my own constituency, the people o…

9 Feb

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, never before was the issue of food safety and food labelling more critical. Nestlé are recalling infant formula products in multiple countries as we speak. Some babies have already become ill. In Ireland tonight, farmers are occupying the headquarters of Bord Bia, a state food body. It is supposed to represent Irish production and Irish standards, yet its chairman is bringing Brazili…

19 Jan

2026

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, red tape is driving our people crazy. I've talked to people today trying to apply for European Union just transition funds. They blame the administrators at local level. They blame delays. They blame endless forms. I blame the timeline set down for the Commission. But this is crucial. As we look now at NRPPs and the new MFF, we must take on board some of these problems. One issue has…

16 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Presentation of the European Affordable Housing Plan (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, I went to the city of Galway, on the western shores of Ireland, on the periphery of Europe, to talk about your affordable housing plan with Mary Frayne, just one of 4 000 people in this city on the housing waiting list. In the Westside and Knocknacarra Community Centres, she told me the average price of a house there was EUR 450 000. She says, 'How could this be affo…

15 Dec

2025

EN Speech

One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

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Mr President, there is an awful lot of talk in this House about consultation, compromise, diplomacy and solidarity, especially when it came to fisheries policy and quota allocation. But I can tell you that talk is cheap after what went on in Brussels last weekend, because consultation in this case was meaningless and its outcomes were repeatedly ignored. That consultation process made one reality …

15 Dec

2025

EN Speech

Amending certain CAP Regulations as regards the conditionality system, types of intervention in the form of direct payment, types of intervention in certain sectors and rural development and annual performance reports, data and interoperability governance, suspensions of payments annual performance clearance and controls and penalties (debate)

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Madam President, Commissioner, this package is a good step forward, I welcome it. Simplification is important, it's crucial, but how it's implemented will decide its success or its failure. In Ireland and the EU, farmers are being asked to deliver environmental services for the common good: protecting wetlands, managing peaty soils and maintaining biodiversity. These are for the public good, but t…

26 Nov

2025

EN Speech

Fishing opportunities 2026: ensuring the sustainability of fish populations, marine ecosystems and coastal communities

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Mr President, Ireland's fishing communities are facing economic catastrophe. The proposed 2026 quotas are devastating: 70 % cuts to mackerel worth EUR 84 million annually to the Member State; a 41 % cut to blue whiting. This is not science, it's incredible injustice. Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and others have been systematically overfishing shared stocks by up to 40 % in some cases, with a…