I might start by recognising a very strong European who was a former Member of this House and who passed away on Monday. David Andrews was a TD for Dún Laoghaire and was somebody who showed on a number of occasions as Minister for Foreign Affairs his commitment to the European project and his commitment to the ideals of Europe. He is a great loss. I wanted to pay tribute to him. I have not had an opportunity in the House to pay my respects to his family, to his wife Annette, his sons David and Barry, and his daughters, Mary, Sinead and Claire. Déanaim comhbhrón leo as ucht an chaillteanais atá acu an tseachtain seo. I wanted to mark that because I thought it was important in the context of this debate. I thought this debate was about the EU Presidency which we took over today rather than an opportunity to criticise every aspect of the European Union. Listening to the debate, I think some people have seen it in those terms. I do not for a moment suggest Europe is perfect or that it does not have its flaws or areas where we have an opportunity to correct the problems with Europe but what we saw today with the opening at Dublin Castle was an extraordinary event that did reflect our uniqueness but also our uniqueness within the context of Europe. I congratulate those involved in organising the ceremony. I want to mark the extraordinary contribution that Carrie Crowley made as MC of the event and the extraordinary musical talent of Cormac Begley and Iarla Ó Lionáird who really showed the depth of musical talent and culture in this country. There was also the recitation of Seamus Heaney's poetry by Ruth Negga. It was a lovely event. I was on radio this morning and one of questions asked was whether we will have the opportunity to make our own mark on this Presidency. We have started down that road. The opening ceremony today was a triumph for everyone involved. It is also a reflection of the level of organisation and preparation that have gone into the Presidency. As Chair of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, I know we have had a lot of dealings with officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who are involved in preparing for the Presidency and the level of preparation is extraordinary. It has not happened in the past week or two. It has been in the making for over a year, and credit is due to those officials for what they have done and the Ministers who will coming into play chairing meetings. I know from speaking to colleagues that they are so prepared. They have a map of where they want to go during the Presidency and who the personalities are on their Council and how they will achieve what they have to achieve. Although it is not an officially announced theme, one of the things we have to look at is expectation management in the context of the Presidency. There is an enormous weight of expectation on Ireland. It is not just because this is our eighth Presidency. We sometimes forget that we were part of the first enlargement of the European Union in 1973. We are one of the older members of the European Union so there is a breadth of experience and understanding of the European Union within the Civil Service and the body politic in this country that does not exist in most countries. Cyprus, before us, is a younger member and a much smaller country that faced enormous challenges with what happened with Iran and attacks on their own soil during their Presidency. That made it incredibly difficult for them to move the agenda they had set out for their Presidency. We can only hope that will not befall us during our Presidency. Lithuania also joined the European Union, like Cyprus, in 2004 so is a relatively new member. They will take over from us next year. As I look at our Presidency, we exist in a gap in the foreseeable potential political turmoil. There is an opportunity for us to achieve great things through this Presidency but also an expectation that Ireland will deliver an excellent Presidency. I fully expect we will but so much of what we could achieve during that time is outside our control. It depends on the co-operation and ambition of the other 26 member states who will share those meetings with us during the Presidency. We do not know if something will happen to us like what happened to Cyprus. We do not know what complication or what attack there will be. When the French had their Presidency, they did not expect war to break out in Ukraine. When the Croatians had their Presidency, they did not expect Covid to hit. There will be unforeseen events that will interrupt our ability to get things done. We have the best chance here because in 2027 there will be all kinds of elections in Europe that may change the political landscape and make it much more difficult to get things done. When we look at what has to be done, there are some really important things within that Presidency. We have set our priorities as competitiveness, security and values but the MFF looms large as well. That seven-year budget is a constant battle between the frugals who want to cut and cut,and those who want to expand spending. Ireland, as an honest broker, running this Presidency has to be the middle ground that can bring those two sides together and that will not be an easy task. It will not be easy to broker a deal on the MFF. If we can do it, or substantially do it before the end of this year, it will put Europe in a much stronger position. I am grateful we have the opportunity to do that and we have a strong team in place at official and political level. However, in the context of the MFF and the changing political and diplomatic landscape of the globe, it is really that we do not cut back on the external action service in the European Union. We have to maintain the European footprint. We have to do so in a way that does not cut our aid budget. Only Ireland and Spain, as members state, have increased their overseas development aid budgets and that is a challenge. When I have said that to colleagues around Europe, they feel that because their countries have cut their ODA budgets, Europe cannot do it. I hope that will be borne out in the MFF negotiations. More important than just diplomacy, we have also have consider our relationship with other countries, particularly in the global south and Africa. We have to move away from a situation where we just see them as recipients of aid but instead as partners for natural resources, trade and development. It is not just because the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, is here that I want to pay tribute to Irish Aid. The manner in which Ireland provides aid to the global south is beyond compare because it does not come with strings attached. We invest in particular countries and identify particular projects. The money and resources are diverted into them but not with strings attached. Even though USAID has been slashed and burned under the Trump presidency, in the past the Africa Acts meant that aid would be delivered but it had to be spent on American products. It came with strings attached. Irish aid and foreign policy do not do that. It is worth recognising that as well. It is also important in what we have identified as our priorities is values. I listened to my colleague criticising Europe's reaction to what is happening in Gaza. I agree with a lot of what he said. I have been consistently disappointed by the European approach to this. Contrary to what he said, I have not been disappointed by the Government's reaction. In fact, Ireland has led the charge in recognising what is happening in Gaza. Never is credit given on the opposition benches to people like Leo Varadkar who was the first western leader to call out Israel for what they did, or the Tániste who was in the Department of Foreign Affairs when we recognised Palestine as a state, or the Government for building an alliance of states at European level that is beginning to approach this in a different way. Spain, Malta, Belgium, Slovenia and the Netherlands are changing their attitude to what is happening there. If we can build that coalition at European level, we might be able to make a change in the way Israel is treated by the international community. Ireland cannot do it alone and this is why being part of the European Union and having the Presidency is so important at this pivotal time. We can build those alliances at that level that might actually make a difference in a way that we, as a solo country, cannot do. Enlargement is part of the values priority. We have such a close relationship with enlargement, not just from when the ten accessions states joined in 2004 but going back further. We were part of the first accession. It was largely during our Presidency in the first half of 1990 that German reunification was debated. Ireland's experience of being part of the European Union has been almost universally positive. For all of its flaws, we have benefited significantly and not just from Structural Funds, motorways, infrastructure and things like that. We were a postcolonial society and country that grew up for its first 50 years in the shadow of Britain economically. Even in terms of the courts, before we became a republic, decisions made in courts in London were binding on Irish courts. There was a monetary union, and we were dependent on the British exchange rate and its currency. In 1973, for the first time we sat around tables in Europe as equals with other European states. We should aim, to the greatest extent possible, to encourage any country that wants to share that experience of true independence and taking their place among the international community. Over the past number of months as Chair of the European affairs committee, I have met with representatives from Montenegro, North Macedonia, Albania, Moldova and Ukraine. These are all countries that have bent over backwards to become part of the European Union. Some of them still have work do. We have to use our Presidency to give them every opportunity to deliver, to recognise the work they have done and to allow them to become part of what is the most progressive union on planet and the biggest trading bloc, that genuinely stands up for human rights, the rule of law and the perseverance of the right of everybody to enjoy life equally.

Sentiment score: 0.16