Speeches

Mr. President, Commissioner. It is vital that the digital world is trustworthy and that our private data is protected as it should be. You have the right to know what information is being collected about you, and why, and where it is being stored, and to know that it is not being sold or being abused in some way. We often hear that controls destroy innovation, but we have seen how self-regulation is lost and its serious impact. This decision by the Irish Data Protection Commission regarding TikTok's placement of people's data outside the EU reminds us and the tech giants that trust is something that needs to be gained and that we need to ensure real responsibility so that we can innovate in ethical and safe ways. You're welcome, Commissioner.

Dear Chairs, over 700 000 Irish people are waiting on hospital waiting lists. Under the Cross-Border Health Directive these patients can benefit from the possibility of such treatment being paid in an EU country. Figures I received from the HSE in Ireland showed a reduction of 80% in the number of patients asking for treatment abroad and a further significant reduction of 55% in the number of patients receiving reimbursements under the Directive between 2018 and 2023. This is a big challenge without a doubt. Irish health services spent €15 million in 2020 reimbursing patients under the scheme, but by 2023 this figure had fallen to €9 million. According to an EU report several years ago, only 11% of Irish people were even aware of the existence of this Directive and some were not even aware of it. One of the main weaknesses of this Directive is that the patient must pay for it first and wait up to 4 months for reimbursement. This is not enough for the poor. This Directive helps people across the EU every day to address complex medical needs and reduce waiting lists. This is why I call on the Commission here today to launch a publicity campaign to tackle the awareness challenge it is facing.

Chair, Commissioner, when someone buys a second hand car in Europe, it costs him a lot of money. He hopes that this car will be of good quality. He is not a mechanic and is therefore confident that EU standards will protect him as a consumer. All it takes is a fair price, and more importantly, a safe car. But the black is often brightened in terms of the number of kilometres that the car has burned. It is common fraud in second-hand car markets across the European Union and we are not protecting consumers as we should. I raise this fraud tonight on EU Consumer Day, as it still shows the gaps in consumer protection in the EU and that we need to explore ways to close them while not creating too bureaucracy for small European businesses. Let's act now. The functioning of the single market depends on it. Thank you very much.

Every year, thousands of Europeans are placed on long waiting lists of essential organs. Europe is currently covered by different systems and each Member State is in charge of its own transplant arrangements. Some countries have donated programs that are well developed, while others are struggling to meet demand. The survival or not of a patient is often a geography lottery. This is not acceptable. If resources and data are shared across borders, the EU could set up a shared framework. With standardised practice and a unified data repository, we could reduce the time it takes to find suitable organs for patients and save lives. While the EU has taken steps to create a more unified approach with the Organ Donation Directive, there is much more to be done. Organ transplantation is a European issue. The European Union must build a framework that ensures a transparent and fast system across all Member States. Thank you.

Dear chairs, over the past two parliamentary periods, red tape has allowed Europe to grow exponentially. We are therefore not competitive. Red tape is increasing costs for small and medium-sized businesses, making it difficult for them to make any profit. Undoubtedly, this is particularly damaging for rural communities that depend on small businesses. According to the CSO, small and medium-sized enterprises represent 99.8% of Irish businesses, employing two-thirds of the remuneration. One of the thousands affected by this is PJ Hickson, a shopper with a small business in Carlow my hometown. Excessive bureaucracy must be tackled every day: lottery, beer, spirits, wine, fresh salmon licence, IMRO for music etc. - paperwork, fees, bureaucracy and time - extraordinarily expensive. Remove the red tape I say. Disapprove the control. I welcome this Commission compass. Strength with him.

Mr President, cryptocurrencies. Undoubtedly a major technological development with positive opportunities such as a more inclusive financial system, faster cross-border transactions and revolutionary possibilities through blockchain technology. We should not ignore cryptocurrencies in Europe. However, let us not make this easy. These opportunities pose a real challenge. Price uncertainty, illegal activities and a lack of strong consumer protections. These are legitimate concerns that require a strong and clear response, but, at the same time, we should not over-regulate on the basis of fear. If we stifle innovation, we risk losing the same boost that Europe could become a global leader in the digital economy. Otherwise, our approach must be smart, looking ahead and ready to bend as it suits. Rules are needed that promote transparency, such as strong anti-money laundering and consumer protections. Similarly, we need to foster innovation by working with private innovators, creating flexible frameworks. Ultimately, Europe has a unique opportunity here with crypto. We should take the opportunity.

Mr President, European tourism must remain competitive. We are very much in competition with the Middle East and Asia. A hotel can be found in Jordan, for example, for less than fifty euros per night, but in Europe, the same hotel could protect EUR 300. In addition, many Member States are adding more tourism taxes on hotel prices. In Portugal, Lisbon doubled its tourism tax from EUR 2.15 to EUR 4.30 last September, while Barcelona raised its tourism tax to EUR 4 per guest last October. Because of this, Europe is less competitive as a destination for the international tourist, who has a range of options. Secondly, we need to start thinking about presenting Europe as a destination at the whole EU level. That is; attracting visitors to more than one EU country. Offering an EU-wide marketing strategy, both cities and rural areas; to attract tourists to Barcelona, Dublin and Berlin, as well as Bavaria, Bantry and Bled. Tourism is the lifeblood of my constituency in Ireland. It creates jobs in regions with little industry. We need to protect tourism and make sure that Europe remains attractive and competitive.

Chairman, Commissioner. My Renew Europe group recently organised a social media campaign, which gathered a number of offensive messages against women online, most of them politicians. The results were remarkable. The campaign highlighted hatred, sexism and threats of violence taking place right here in the European Union. We do not need to look outside the EU to find female politicians suffering from digital harassment and ill-treatment. It’s happening right here. Why aren't the people behind it being held accountable? When this is not done, we enable these people to continue and this leads to oppression of women. But when the perpetrators of harassment and sexual violence are held accountable, we deprive them of their power. We need to start with making the big social media companies responsible for the harmful and sometimes illegal content on the platform, which they themselves ignore. Let’s take them to protect the accounts of friends with women running for public office.

Mr President, ombudsman, friends. Emily O'Reilly, the outgoing Ombudsman. It will not happen again in Europe. As an outstanding and brave journalist, she showed from the outset that she understood the urgent need to hold those in power accountable. Since becoming Europe’s first female Ombudsman, she has created and fostered greater transparency, ethics and better administration at a new and very high level in the European institutions. Her brave and determined work showed us: number one, that all the institutions are here to serve the people of Europe – you in the viewing gallery are listening. Second, the institutions must not abuse their powers to the detriment of Europeans. She fought tirelessly for justice, fairness and trust in our systems. It was not at all reluctant to stand up for EU citizens and consumers and tackle big power institutions such as the Commission. She didn't take “no” easily. Congratulations, my dear wife.

Today we have reached thirty-five years of children’s rights thanks to the UN Convention. But what’s the reality in reality? Are we protecting children around the world in every country around the world? More than 11,000 children have been killed in Gaza, Palestine, and more than three thousand of them are under the age of five. Gaza has been described by UNICEF as a graveyard. A cemetery for thousands of children. We should be embarrassed in this house for negligence in the European Union. The next generations, your children, will be wondering why we didn't do more to protect these children from death, destruction. The weapons used by Israel often come directly across from the European Union. There are many trade agreements between the EU and Israel. We should celebrate the thirty-fiveth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child through three things. First, call and demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Number two, abolition of arms sales. Third, review the trade agreement.

Mr President, I welcome the Commission’s action plan on improving European rail services. If we are serious about promoting the rail system, we need to be serious about spending money on it. There is an urgent need to invest in infrastructure and customer experience. There is also a need to increase certainty and frequency of services, as the train is not always faster than the car. In Ireland, for example, it takes three and a half hours to travel by car from Kerry to Dublin, while on the other hand, by train, it takes four hours. Disadvantage for the traveller. Catering services on trains, which were suspended during the pandemic, remain closed. On some trains, a bottle of water cannot be bought and, because of its many people, even a seat cannot be found. This is seats that are pre-purchased by consumers. And there must always be vigilance in terms of anti-social behaviour and theft threat. Dear Members, we will appeal to the public to take advantage of the rail services across Europe if we spend the necessary money on the services.

A Uachtaráin, I welcome this debate and reiterate Renew Europe's call for a comprehensive mental health strategy for Europe. It's a matter of urgency: 84 million people across the EU have been diagnosed with mental health issues such as anxiety, panic and depression. I know about these issues better than most, having experienced them first-hand with family members and with former clients. These people need to be supported, not stigmatised. We need a mental health strategy with concrete targets, timelines, benchmarks. In Renew Europe's policy paper of 2021, the Renew Group looked at how mental health issues are impacting both our economy and our society: our people. The policy paper called for appropriate funding at EU level and funding for EU and national levels to ensure better mental health outcomes. It also called for setting up cross-border and cross-sectoral cooperation at EU, national, regional and local levels for our mental health services. Let's beat mental health together.

Mr President, drug dealers in Europe are becoming more sophisticated, smarter, more violent. Thanks to the new technology, they can hide money and move drugs across Europe with ease. The Irish are the largest users of cocaine in Europe, according to last year’s European drug report. As an Irishman, this is a shame for me. MDMA use in Ireland has grown exponentially over the last 10 years and cannabis has long been the most common drug in Ireland. Starter portal drug. Taking drugs is taking lives. Drug crimes are on the rise across Europe and we need to bring to justice people who use drugs socially and risk and take lives. leaving children without parents. A tragic vacuum. Friends, we need to better equip Europol to fight the drug dealers. We need to empower Europol to administer and manage cross-border inquiries rather than depending on the request of Member States to act. We need to allow the national police services to cooperate more with each other. We fight against drug dealers.

Mr President, Madam Commissioner Vestager, fellow MEPs, let's get real here in the real world outside of the Brussels bubble. The Digital Services Act versus tech giants is akin to David versus Goliath. It's regulation versus profit-hungry rebels. The Goliath tech giants devour regulations and self-regulation and compliance for their breakfast. They thrive on enforcement and self-regulation because they know it's slow, cumbersome and full of red tape. In the meantime, friends, the Goliath tech giants have made millions. They have robbed our children of their childhood. They have swindled our old-age pensioners out of their savings for their holidays. And they have organised our citizens to hate, to maim and to kill. That means, quite simply, lives are lost. I say enough is enough. You and me and us as MEPs, we need to legislate for robust laws and fast laws. That means interim and interlocutory suspensions and injunctions. We need to be rapid and, especially, we need criminal sanctions for those directors of the tech giants. That will temper the tech giants. That will teach them manners. I say ...

Mr President, Madam Commissioner McGuinness, dear colleagues, a chairde uilig atá ag éisteacht, Ireland has a proud tradition of pro-European politics, over 50 plus years. And I call on all the Members of this House in these times of trouble, and we have heard of many problems here this evening, to remain relevant, real, effective, efficient, down to earth. These are values that I espouse in representing the people of Ireland South. Let's promote less red tape, more communication, more simplicity. It's for this reason that I will be talking about defending children's rights, as the tech giants rob them of their childhood. Repairing our roads. As more and more people die on those roads, and also standing up for farmers who, tonight, are anxious, depressed and down because they simply don't know whether they can repay loans taken out in the face of possibly losing the derogation which is so vital to Ireland. For those reasons, colleagues, I call upon all of us at the start of this mandate to rise to the challenge, to be relevant, to be real.