Speeches

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 and the full-time farmers, Minister and Commissioner. This report outlines the real pressures: regulation, market volatility, animal disease and declining livestock numbers. Disease alone is placing huge strain on already vulnerable farm incomes. Market turbulence is now a defining challenge. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement comes in tomorrow despite our democratic decision in this House not to approve it yet. This will oppose EU farmers to unfair competition and lower standards. This is not speculation. If we are serious about food security, livestock must remain central to our system. Eurostat is clear, Commissioner. Livestock numbers in the EU are declining at an alarming rate, and in Ireland alone it is almost one million livestock. Without action, we risk losing our capacity to feed ourselves.

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, Commissioner, of 1.27 % of GNI, the money generated by EU individuals and businesses. We must also exclude the NextGenerationEU debt repayments from this equation, because anything less would leave the Union underfunded and unable to meet the scale of the challenges before us. For agriculture, Parliament must be equally firm. The common agricultural policy must have a dedicated and a robust budget of 433 billion at least in current prices. CAP cannot be treated as a leftover or absorbed into national envelopes. Food production is now a core part of European security. Food security is national security, so Europe must protect its farmers' capacity to produce food. Parliament has a democratic mandate, so if the final budget fails to protect CAP, the crucial issues of LEADER and just transition funds, then this Parliament must be ready to withhold its consent and say 'No'.

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 deepens. And Galway Councillor Noel Thomas tells me families need urgent help in parts of the city to meet the escalating cost of fuel and food and rent every week. The European Commission and the Irish Government have talked about an energy voucher scheme to support these families, but where is it, Madam President? In parts of the Westside, Ballybane and Knocknacarra in Galway, pensioners and others are still waiting for a new initiative on home heating oil, where the price of kerosene has almost doubled. So why is there a delay, I ask? What do they want? Do they want the proud people of the city to beg for assistance in this wartime inflation crisis? I say: stop leaking the stories and make them happen. For God's sake, get on with the family income support, and do it this week!

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 problem with regard to the regulation of the financial industry. But ten years later, we found out that the banks were not very good in financial literacy either. Irish banks were fined over EUR 270 million in total for a widespread tracker mortgage scandal. Unfair complaints handling, denying customers the right to track our rates, running failings in the treatment of over 10 000 accounts. It's not funny because some people lost their homes. Hopefully we've learned from that episode – a shameful episode for Bank of Ireland, AIB, Ulster Bank, KBC and Permanent TSB. Now we need this more than ever: we need a proper financial literacy scheme. As we prepare for the savings and investment union, we must learn our lessons and we must move forward with digital supports and education, even at secondary level. Let's bring it on and do it right this time.

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 the same respect, or indeed the labour rights that we grant to other employees in our societies. In our Member State of Ireland, Commissioner, Garda representatives are still excluded from meaningful collective bargaining, excluded from national social dialogue and denied effective mechanisms to resolve disputes. Commissioner, this is an unjust situation, entirely out of line with the spirit of the social rights granted by the EU. Ireland remains an outlier in denying police officers direct wage negotiation, and where the right to strike is restricted, there must be surely a strong, genuine collective bargaining in its place. I appeal for your personal assistance on this matter.

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 people with disabilities. Today, around 87 million people in the EU live with a disability, and only half are employed and nearly 1 in 3 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. It is not good enough. AccessibleEU helps bridge the gap between legislation and implementation. While it is good start, I believe we should go further. We must consider establishing a dedicated EU agency with accessibility. This will allow experts to provide recommendations based on the very latest evidence, and to help enforce legislation such as the European Accessibility Act. We must also revise accessibility legislation to ensure people with disabilities have real access while travelling by bus, rail, sea or air. Colleagues, we must introduce new legislation and standards on access to media content and labelling. These are important issues. I hope the Commission will heed this debate when presenting an updated strategy. We will be watching it carefully. Commissioner, in May.

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 accommodation and end up commuting for hours and hours on end. Worse again, we see students sleeping in their cars – I've seen this! So we have to act and act quickly. I brought almost 50 targeted amendments to this committee and I am very pleased that most of them have been taken on board. I am looking for a reform, Commissioner, of VAT legislation to allow Member States to introduce a super‑reduced VAT on residential construction materials. I want to see us allowing fast‑track or modular apprenticeships to scale up the workforce in this badly needed area, and I am asking Member States to support young couples by allowing for multiple dwellings to be built on family-owned land in rural areas. These are pragmatic solutions. We have to remember what this is about. It's about Carina O'Grady from Galway City, who lost her home in the crash. It wasn't her fault. Now she lives in a Clúid house. She is a mother of seven, all of them living at home. The eldest is 29 years old. It's a new generation of homeless people and we have to stop this. We have to stop it now.

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 events in the Middle East have made it worse: they have sent the price of all fuels skyrocketing. Norman Egar from the Association of Farm and Forestry Contractors in Ireland told me today that their members' costs are going up every day. One Longford transport company owner rang me to say his bills had gone up EUR 3 000 in a week – 10 %. Commissioner, we have to do something. We must act on this quickly. We should look at suspending tariffs on fertiliser imports at this stage. The Commission needs to release some of its EU strategic oil reserves in order to try and stabilise the situation. I also say the Irish Government must suspend carbon taxes for this crisis to try and deal with it. Farmers are not alone either, Commissioner. Households and businesses are under enormous financial pressure. If oil prices continue to rise unchecked, we risk seeing further inflation, and serious economic and social consequences.

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 of County Louth and County Meath, are sitting at home watching the water levels grow to record levels and waiting for an alarm to go off. Commissioner, we have been here before – just over a year ago, Storm Éowyn hit my country. We know the weaknesses: the failure to react to information. It's not rocket science, Commissioner. You know this. There are four key issues we need to double our efforts on. Number one, we must gather accurate meteorological information. That is key to the situation. But number two, we must share it with our national and local authorities urgently. Three, urgently and efficiently, we must trigger the mechanism for an action plan when it is required. Number four, we must communicate with our people around the world and around the continent of Europe. It's not rocket science. We all have these gadgets in our pocket. We can communicate by text. Why are we not doing this? To fail to plan is to plan to fail, Commissioner.

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 Brazilian beef and chicken into Europe, despite clear evidence of the use of deadly antibiotics in the Mercosur country. Farmers are justifiably angry at double standards. Bord Bia was created after the shame of the Beef Tribunal in Ireland in the 1990s. Some people seem to have forgotten the findings of malpractice and corruption when big business and politics ruled, instead of safety standards. Consumers need clarity. They should not have to study small print, and if trust is undermined, we will all suffer. This is not protectionism – it's about clarity, honesty and fairness. Shame on those who want to make it about profits first and safety standards later.

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 clearly appeared – it's complexity. We need simplification. A recent analysis showed that more than 540 EU programmes operate under these measures. This represents a serious administrative burden. This affects rural areas. In my area recently over 27 000 people protested for the future of the rural area and the problems caused by the Mercosur trade agreement. I say tonight we need a legal review of this agreement. We must be fair and we must not listen to people who say it will delay the process and it will never come back. That's not true. This agreement can be amended in the future. If the people in Argentina and Brazil, in particular, clean up their act with their beef, it can come back. Do not be telling lies that it's the end of it. We must vote for a legal agreement and referral.

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 affordable in a city with salary levels in that region?' Your plan to attract additional public and private investment could be crucial there. Galway City and County Council officials told me the land bank is there at Ardaun, on the edge of the city, where they could build 4 000 homes, but they need additional investment for the wastewater treatment plant. And I wonder: would your pan‑European investment platform help projects at this scale? I wonder: would the European Investment Bank really be able to offer an attractive enough interest rate to fund this? Simplifying state rules would undoubtedly help here. That's a fact. Empowering the ATU and other technological universities to build their own accommodation would help. Restricting those short‑term lettings in the stress zones would help. But what cities really need in these areas is the cutting of red tape in planning and permits. Local councillor Noel Thomas told me the hardship and frustration this causes. We must call on our Member States to grasp opportunities to cut through the tape. Less red tape, more housing, Commissioner!

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 clear: Ireland has already lost more than 26 % of the fishing quota as a direct consequence of Brexit. The mechanism designed to protect smaller nations and their fishing industries, the Hague Preferences, was meant to act as a safeguard. What Ireland's fishing industry witnessed in the early hours of Saturday morning was that this commitment was set aside under pressure from larger Member States. In effect, bigger fishing nations came together to deprive Irish fishermen and women of their legitimate rights under EU commitments – rights that existed precisely to protect vulnerable coastal regions. This outcome also exposed the Commission's tolerance of the continued overfishing of Irish and EU waters by non-EU fleets. We are angry, Mr President, and we are angry because on this occasion the smaller coastal nations have been ignored. We were shafted!

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 they come at a real price too. If we want farmers to be genuine partners in conservation, we must move beyond these symbolic payments. We need to put proper, fair compensation in place for the services that people provide to society. Paying farmers for environmental delivery is not charity, at the end of the day, it's recognition of the work done. So the long overdue changes to the GAEC regulations, particularly GAEC 2, are especially important to Ireland, given the extent of peaty soils and environmentally-sensitive land. Flooding is a regular feature for people like Shaun Fayne, who farms in County Longford near the River Shannon. Yet not a penny of compensation has been paid to date, Minister. Allowing Member States to pay farmers for the conservation and management of these areas is the right approach. I welcome the work you have done.

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 an estimated one million tonnes taken above the scientific advice over the past five years. Dominic Rihan, Chief Executive of the Killybegs Fishermen's Organisation, has told me that even European interests have investments in these firms, and while not doing anything illegal, they are complicit in the overfishing. This Parliament must send a message to the Council meeting in December: invoke the Hague Preferences fully for Ireland, and ensure we're defended in the ongoing EU‑Norway discussions. Furthermore, emergency financial support must follow. If you want to sell fish to the EU, you fish sustainably with us, no exceptions. This must be the rule. We need a long‑term vision. Please support our fishermen and make it sustainable and viable.

Madam Commissioner, I once sat on an interview board to select a person for a position of employment, and subsequently I made the job offer to a candidate who was, in my opinion, the best person for the position. The fact that this person was a wheelchair user was, to me, irrelevant at that time as far as I was concerned. But the successful applicant told me the following day that this was not the case because he said to me, 'I cannot accept the salary offered to me because, if I do, I will lose the disability allowance paid to me by the Government of Ireland, or indeed the fuel allowance to heat my home because it is means-tested.' What a shocking indictment of a Member State's equal employment laws. In our country, Linda Sice of Galway City Partnership, Karen Mangan from Forum Connemara and Brendan Tallon of EmployAbility Turas Nua are just three of the hundreds of people in Ireland doing Trojan work to provide training and new employment opportunities for people who need jobs. But going to work is, for people with disabilities, more costly than for others. We must recognise these facts, Commissioner. Member States must realise this. We cannot penalise people who want to work.

Madam President, I want to congratulate the work that has been done by the parliamentary committees of this House and elsewhere on the restoration of relations between the EU and the UK. I also thank the rapporteurs for their work in this regard. I have to say, I think today, however, of the scene in County Donegal in my constituency, where prior to the Brexit decision and the agreement forged by Michel Barnier, fishermen gathered on the quay and asked for a balanced resolution – a solution that would bring balance. They were assured by both Mr Barnier and by the Irish Government and the Commission that this would happen. The result, however, has been very different. Instead, we have seen a 40 % transfer of quotas from Europe to the UK. Regrettably, Irish fishermen and Irish fisherwomen in particular have suffered most, and the cost to their industry is estimated in the region of EUR 180 million. That is the cost they have had to pay. They have waited and they have suggested that the European Commission would readdress this and that the British would readdress this. But it hasn't happened. It hasn't happened at all. So today they wait on the pier in Donegal, and they look at vessels and fishing boats, which have cost EUR 10 million, EUR 20 million to purchase, yet they do not have the quotas. I ask Commissioner Šefčovič if he has a personal word of advice for these fishermen today.

Madam President, every year, an estimated 5 000 people lose their lives in residential fires across Europe, with at least 10 times as many suffering life-changing injuries. Behind every statistic is a community, or indeed a vulnerable family, whose lives have been torn apart. On 2 June 1996, I saw the reality of this myself when, as a young reporter, I went to a house in Portarlington in County Laois, where 48-year-old Breda Maher and six of her children, aged 2 to 27 years of age, had lost their lives in an horrific blaze, which began in the grill of a cooker. We must learn from these tragedies. Fire safety must be at the heart of the EU's new affordable housing policy when it's published in December. It is fundamental to saving lives and strengthening the resilience of our housing stock. We urgently need better coordination at EU level and, indeed, we need to boost fire safety standards in all Member States. We must work together across Europe for safer homes. Let's commit to making fire safety a priority all year round, and not just during Fire Safety Week.

Madam President, I rise today to make a point of order under Rule 117 of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure. I will do this alongside 145 signatories of this House from five political groups who've requested a legal opinion of the European Court of Justice. I note what you say, President, this afternoon. But I raise the issue at you on precedent. It is our right as Members of this House to request such an opinion. In 2019, we did this – there is a precedent. We have already requested an opinion before the Council had their position in an international agreement; when the Parliament sought an opinion of the European Court of Justice on the EU's accession to the Istanbul Convention. President – it is clear that both of these cases are international agreements, and that one has been treated differently to the other. We must have equivalence in our work, otherwise this calls into question the working and independence of our institution, and I ask you to note the fact that they were both really significant and important agreements.

Mr President, I rise here to speak for Ireland's coastal communities, for fishermen who have played by the rules but now face ruin. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommends that in 2026, mackerel catches fall by about 70 % and blue whiting by 41 %, but these are Ireland's lifeblood species. This crisis was not caused by Irish fishers; Ireland fishes within the EU limits. Yet some coastal states have seen unilateral quotas above scientific advice while still selling into the EU market. That is neither fair nor sustainable. Fisherman Alan O'Neil, from Cork, came to this building to tell me his son, 13 years of age, loves fishing, but he's had to tell him to move away from the profession now because there is no future in it. This is not right. The pain must be heard in this House. For one job at sea, there can be up to seven ashore, and Ireland's seafood economy supports around 17 000 jobs in coastal regions. So I say Ireland needs immediate fairness. Invoke the Hague Preferences now to cushion the blow on communities in Donegal and Cork, and ensure equal sustainability obligations for all our partners.

Mr President, Ms von der Leyen, last July you came in to this Parliament and offered us a budget that left farmers with 20 % less in their income. We rejected it outright. Last weekend you realised we were serious. You changed, you tried to pretend it was something else. But today you came in with a pig in a poke. Do you know what that is? You are offering us an opportunity to buy something, and we do not know what it is. You told us today you are going to have rural targets in future – there will be 10 % more. We need specifics! In fact, we need our old Pillar II back, Commissioner. We need our Pillar II for EU Leader funding and for all those other key issues. And in cohesion funds, we need specific funding ring‑fenced for our Member States. You started the process of just transition across Europe. You funded the workers who lost their jobs for the first four or five years. You cannot walk away now. You cannot say it's a matter for the Member States. These are your policies in the first instance that left hundreds of people out of work. They rely on this funding. I say to you we will not buy this pig in the poke. Start again. Come up with another plan.

I am in favour of the meteorological services, the professional services who tell us today: 'There will be rain – and severe rain – in your Member State on Friday'. I am critical of people who do not respond to this. I do not care whether or not it is a modern activity, whether it is a once-off flood or a major event. The critical thing is lives are being lost. We saw it in my own constituency and – Commissioner, I read this point to you as well about the role of the habitats act – sometimes we do not deal with the flooding because it is protected. The land is protected. People must come first. I agree with my colleagues from Spain from today: people must come first.

Mr President, there can be no doubt about the scale of the tragedy that hit the people of Valencia this time last year. Our thoughts are with those who lost loved ones in the floods. But one has to ask critical questions about the response of the Spanish authorities and, indeed, the reaction of the so-called 'European crisis machine'. Where was it? The failure of the early warning system is responsible for the damage done in severe weather events like this. Prevention measures are essential. I raised this directly with Commissioner Lahbib when she came before the Parliament and Marco Panigalli, the head of the Commission's Civil Protection Emergency Response Capabilities unit, admitted it. He said clearly, when they see from the weather instruments there might be a catastrophe looming, the mechanism can be pre-activated, meaning the emergency teams from throughout Europe can go directly to an area under threat before the storm, before the rain, and go on standby, ready to be deployed. Whether it's Spain, or along the Shannon Callows in County Offaly, or indeed any potential blackspot for flooding. So we must wake up to use these supports from Europe. Member States must trigger the alarm earlier and take more precautions or more will die and more land will be damaged.

Mr President, Commissioner, when I first saw the charred remains of the car in front of the home of journalist Sigfrido Ranucci, my mind went back to 26 June 1996, when the Irish investigative journalist Veronica Guerin was murdered in her car in a contract killing in Dublin, ordered by a Dublin-based drug cartel. I knew her well. She fought for investigative journalism throughout her career, even after she was first shot in the leg. When I met her, she said she would never give up her investigative work. She continued until the day she died. In the aftermath of her murder, the Irish Government responded to a public outcry against this attack on the freedom of the press, and created a new Criminal Assets Bureau with the legal power to seize assets that are clearly the assets of criminals, and the result of their crimes. Occasionally, we see nowadays reports showing BMW cars and Mercedes cars and gold Rolex watches being taken away from mansions where these guys – these thugs – live. But it's not enough. We need to see more, Commissioner. We need to see swifter and more powerful legislation across borders in Europe. There can be no hiding place for these thugs. We must go after those who flaunt their ill-gotten gains, because we cannot give into intimidation.

Mr President, two human stories for you this evening, President, one common theme: the crisis facing industry due to the extortionate price of energy in Europe, costing thousands of jobs. In my constituency in Ireland, Alex Armstrong from Kildare town has worked in the hospitality industry since he was 16 years old. He worked hard in the kitchens, weekends, bank holidays. But he doesn't do it anymore because Strong's Café in Kildare is closing down on 16 November because of overheads, crippling energy costs and more. It's no longer sustainable. Joan is in her 70s; she's worked with her husband in a busy engineering business in the Midlands since 1968. She told me she's at the end of her tether because electricity companies, she says, have robbed them. The bills went from EUR 2 500 per month to EUR 10 000 per month. When is the European Commission and the Irish Government going to realise that energy prices must be cut urgently? Industry can't wait for Russian gas to end or the super grid to be set up. We need to move now before thousands of other jobs are lost.