What Michael spoke about.

7

May

2025

EN Speech

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Violations of religious freedom in Tibet

Madam President, as we stand here at this moment we're celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations with China. In that time much has been achieved by the European Union. There have been enormous developments. There have also been enormous developments in China, which must be commended. However, differences also remain, and while it would be wrong not to acknowledge the developments that have take…

5

May

2025

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

(start of speech off mic) ... I suppose the instability and unprecedented level of conflict in the world is such that when two of the world's greatest powers, two of the world's most populous nations, both nuclear armed, are squaring up and threatening each other, it barely receives a word here in the European Union, or indeed from this Parliament. I would like to take this opportunity to express …

13

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Action Plan for Affordable Energy (debate)

Mr President, I'm not here very long, but already I have the impression that this place operates like a bubble. I've listened to numerous speeches this week saying that the only thing that our citizens care about is defence. Colleagues, I do not believe for a moment that this Parliament will be judged on whether or not there are soldiers wearing the European Union insignia on their shoulder in fiv…

12

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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The need for EU support towards a just transition and reconstruction in Syria (RC-B10-0157/2025)

Mr President, I voted in favour of this resolution supporting a just transition and reconstruction in Syria today. The people of Syria have suffered for too long at the hands of a brutal dictator to have it replaced by an equally brutal regime. I acknowledge the suspension and revision of the sanctions regime, which – we must acknowledge – had little or no impact on Assad's reign and worsened the …

12

Mar

2025

EN Speech

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Unlawful detention and sham trials of Armenian hostages, including high-ranking political representatives from Nagorno-Karabakh, by Azerbaijan

Mr President, colleagues, the deterioration in respect for human rights in Azerbaijan should be a source of concern to this Parliament. But so, too, should the Commission's silence in the face of that. The ongoing detention and trial of 16 persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, including eight former leaders, must be condemned for what it is: a Stalinist show trial. So, too, the denial of access to the me…

22

Jan

2025

EN Speech

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Stepping up international action to protect whales following Iceland’s decision to extend commercial whaling until 2029 (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, the extension of Iceland's commercial whaling, allowing up to 426 whales to be killed each year, must be condemned and combated by the European Union. Whales are vital for our marine ecosystems, for carbon stability and for sequestration, and scientific research also underscores their intelligence and social complexity, making their protection even more urgent. Existin…

28

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Georgia's worsening democratic crisis following the recent parliamentary elections and alleged electoral fraud (RC-B10-0179/2024)

Mr President, I just wish to explain my vote on Georgia and why I voted against the resolution. Simply, I voted against the resolution because it bore no relation, in my view, with the statement of the long-term mission which was in place of the OSCE-ODIHR, but to which the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the Council of Europe and the Parliame…

28

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Need to adopt an ambitious international legally binding agreement on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment

Mr President, colleagues, plastic pollution is one of the most visible manifestations of humanity's destruction of the planet that we see. It is also something that profoundly frightens me. To walk on Spanish Point Beach with my little children when the tide goes out, and to pick up pieces of plastic and put them away, I'm struck by how different it was to when I was a child, and how different it …

26

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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Prison conditions in the EU (debate)

Madam President, the Council of Europe's 2023 annual report on prison populations noted that Cyprus, Romania, France, Belgium, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia are all grappling with severe overcrowding, with the prison density of more than 105 inmates per 100 places available, with Ireland, Portugal, Finland and Denmark not far behind. Cork prison, in the constituency that I represent, is already at 1…

25

Nov

2024

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

Mr President, I suppose I too wish to express reservations about the proposed Mercosur agreement. Over the past number of years, farmers have been asked, rightly, in my view, to farm in a sustainable way, to farm in a way which is environmentally sustainable and can guarantee a high-quality product to European consumers, and also a very high quality of animal welfare, and to increasingly farm in a…

22

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Situation in Azerbaijan, violation of human rights and international law and relations with Armenia (debate)

Mr President, colleagues, Azerbaijan is a country that I came to know well when I worked in the OSCE, came to know even better when I was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, just beside this building, where I, along with a lot of others, encountered what was called at the time 'caviar diplomacy', where very large sums of money were washing around to encourage people to…

8

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Escalation of violence in the Middle East and the situation in Lebanon (debate)

Madam President, in the TEU, the European Union pledges itself to respect the principles of the UN Charter and international law. That is why we must suspend the trade association agreement with Israel now. Irish troops and those of our Polish colleagues in southern Lebanon are there serving in UNIFIL in furtherance of those principles of the UN Charter. That is why the Union must stand with them …

7

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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One-minute speeches on matters of political importance

(Start of speech off mic) … like the need to regulate disciplinary procedures for medical professionals at a European level. The procedures for recognising qualifications are already recognised at a European level. Obviously there's a considerable amount of transfer of medical professionals between European countries, and that is beneficial for both medical professionals, but also, perhaps more im…

7

Oct

2024

EN Speech

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Facing fake news, populism and disinformation in the EU - the importance of public broadcasting, media pluralism and independent journalism (debate)

Madam President, it is indeed important to acknowledge the huge threat to democracy posed by disinformation. But equally, it's important to acknowledge the threat to democracy posed by excessive government control of the media, be it at a European level or at a national level. Members of the Irish Government acknowledged the dangers of direct exchequer funding, at the discretion of the government,…

18

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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The deteriorating situation of women in Afghanistan due to the recent adoption of the law on the “Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice”

Mr President, colleagues, this August, three years after the fall of Kabul, the Taliban promulgated a new law, Article 22(10) of which stated 'an enforcer is duty bound to prevent the following individual wrongful acts: the sound of a woman's voice or any music emanating from any gathering or from the home'. I think one of the saddest aspects of this is that it was entirely predictable that this i…

17

Sep

2024

EN Speech

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War in the Gaza Strip and the situation in the Middle-East (debate)

Madam President, colleagues, Israel has a right to defend itself. Of that there is absolutely no doubt. However, it must, in defending itself, act within the confines and constraints of international law. It is not doing that at the moment. And we, the European Union, are standing idly by and watching that unfold. The attacks of 7 October by Hamas were barbaric. They were designed to provoke a rea…