I will start with the logistical side of things. I acknowledge that this is a project which many hundreds if not thousands of people in the Department of foreign affairs and other Departments will work very hard on. I am always very aware of the professionalism of the Department of foreign affairs. I commend it on its work today and on the work it does on an ongoing basis. I have every faith that it will deliver, from an organisational point of view, a very successful Presidency. The other part of the logistical side of things to register again the concerns we have raised in the past about security. The anti-drone technology that was supposed to be procured and put in place last autumn is only just about coming into play now, just in time the Presidency. Our reliance on other member states, which has been reported, reflects the fact that for many years successive Governments failed to invest in defence. The priority for the Irish Government should be to be strong on neutrality and on defence. The two things need to go together. Ultimately, a failure to invest leads to a reliance on others that has been demonstrated in the context of this Presidency. On the political side, this should be a Presidency that leaves a mark. If we get to a stage at the end of the Presidency where the Commission is happy that all its priorities were shepherded through by the Irish Government to the Commission's satisfaction, I am sure that will lead to praise for the Government and its Ministers. Ultimately, however, that is not what the Irish people need. They need a Presidency that is assertive, that shows leadership, that is proudly Irish and that is willing to highlight and advocate on behalf of our interests. Of course, there is a balance to be struck. We must acknowledge that we hold the Presidency now but that this is a role that only comes around every so often. In that context, we need to take this opportunity and show assertive leadership. In our submission on the Presidency, we highlighted six key priorities, namely Irish unity, the promotion of peace, the cost-of-living crisis, workers' rights, overseas development aid and fair play for farmers and fishers. On the first of these, it is extraordinary that we are going to go into a Presidency at a time when the Irish Government seems to have no ambition whatsoever to talk about Irish unity. It is incumbent on those who support Irish unity to take opportunities such as this to advocate for it. I am not saying that this is going to be the number one priority for Slovakia, France or Greece, but the EU, as an institution, will have a role to play when and if reunification is achieved. That is very clear, and previous Irish Governments have made engagements to ensue that the North can, in the event of Irish unity, access the EU. However, in their contributions, the Minister and the Minister of State said more about space than about Irish unity. Investment in space is important, and I appreciate that it has knock-on impacts for research, science and so on, but this is the Irish Government and it should be using opportunities like this to advocate for Irish unity. The next priority is the promotion of peace. The shameful record of the EU on the Middle East in recent years has been frequently outlined in this Chamber. We cannot allow a situation where all the focus is on the humanitarian side, which is important, and not push for a sustainable political solution for the Middle East, including in Lebanon. I wish to flag the issue of Sudan. Too often, Sudan has been allowed to slip off the agenda. However, the conflict there is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, conflicts in the world. The cost-of-living crisis is next. The cost of energy and reform of the energy markets are crucial. Workers’ rights are another priority we highlighted. I and many trade unionists across Europe are concerned that this Ireland Inc. proposal will lead to forum-shopping and to companies registering in countries with the weakest labour laws. We can all work towards simplification if workers’ rights and the environment are not made victims, but I am concerned that they will be sacrificed for this. On overseas development aid, unfortunately, many countries are walking away from their track record. There will be people, especially in Africa, who will suffer because of cuts to medical and public health programmes. We need to keep that matter on the agenda. Last of all, fair play for farmers and fishers in the context of the Common Agricultural Policy. The Presidency should, to the greatest extent possible, ensure there is Six Counties representation and engagement with them. That does not seem to be prominent enough in the programme as things stand.

Sentiment score: 0.17