Mar a déarfá, tús maith leath na hoibre. Even if it is only the start rather than half the work done, today's launch of the Presidency of the EU Council in Dublin Castle was, if Members can pardon the pun, a real "Ode to Joy" - from the band of the Defence Forces and the National Youth Choir who heralded the hanging of the Irish, EU and then the Ukrainian flags, to all the other performers, it was indeed a hugely positive occasion from an artistic and cultural perspective. "Samhradh Samhradh" was performed by a collection of musicians, including Laoise Kelly on the harp, Cormac Begley and Christina Polycarpou on the lyra, which segued nicely from the Cypriot Presidency. As someone who likes to sing and has written songs, I was blown away by the depth and variety of all the talent on display - from The Gloaming to the sean-nós, Iarla Ó Lionáird and the ensemble, Francesco Turrisi and Séamus Ong. Cormac Begley performing "O'Neill's March" with Stephanie Keane doing the sean-nós style dancing was absolutely amazing. Ruth Negga did a great reading of Seamus Heaney's "Beacons at Bealtaine". Tolü Makay did a fantastic rendition of The Cranberries' "Dreams". I noticed that a lot of the diplomatic corps from other EU member states were swaying to it. They knew the song and it really got them going. All in all, it was a great start and as Deputy Barry Ward just said, Carrie Crowley did a fantastic and very dignified job as master of ceremonies. Then we had the politicians. In fairness, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste were very strong in outlining our vision both in terms of Ireland's role within the EU and also the direction of the EU, as were all the Ministers. Everyone batted very well for the team. It was good to see the European Council President, António Costa, make reference to Palestine, Lebanon, the Strait of Hormuz and the war in Ukraine. It was great - I also thought it was touching - that the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was able to visit these shores so soon after his official State visit when he addressed Dáil Éireann. This again afforded him the opportunity to call on the EU to keep its promises. That is what I took out of his contribution. He pointed to Ukraine's future as part of the European Union and sounded further warnings about continued Russian aggression and how Putin is not going to stop unless strength and unity are shown. That is the theme of the Irish Presidency - ní neart go cur le chéile. I will reference the themes which have been referenced already: competitiveness in terms of strengthening Europe's economy, boosting innovation and productivity in the Single Market and supporting prosperity and jobs across the EU; values in terms of upholding democracy, human rights and the rule of law and defending these values not just in the European context but also globally; maintaining the foundational principles of the EU going back before we joined the European Economic Community in 1973; and security in terms of protecting EU citizens, strengthening stability and addressing the geopolitical challenges such as the aforementioned war in Ukraine and other global conflicts, and in terms of building resilience and defence capacity, which President Costa mentioned as well. On a related note, I mentioned at the EU affairs committee of which I am a member the need to really get involved with our young people and young people across Europe and to engage with them. It is great to see that this will form a good part of the local engagement and interaction process over the coming six months. That is all well and good - tús maith, mar a dúirt mé - but Ireland is only going to be judged on tangible achievements. It can be a steady-as-she-goes Presidency where we just keep it ticking over until the next country takes over, or we can try to get some tangible achievements. Obviously any country has to be realistic, especially a small country like us on the periphery, in terms of what we can do in six months given the real need for continuity, but it would be nice to see little bit of progress. On competitiveness, we have to focus on practical outcomes. That means focusing on cutting the barriers for SMEs, reducing energy costs and supporting innovation. It is about getting the balance right between regulation and enterprise. In terms of AI and social media companies, while the EU is quite strong in some ways, I notice a little bit of a dilution. I also notice a dilution on the measures to tackle climate change. Maybe there will be a redoubling during this Presidency. I hope there will be because we still have the naysayers saying that this is just a repeat of the summer of 1976. Our continental cousins are being absolutely devastated by the record global temperatures. We need to have energy self-sufficiency, which will have to be renewable, but also interchangeable across the grid between the French nuclear, the Irish wind and wave, and the solar, especially coming from the Mediterranean states. We have to show real leadership on this, and not just kind of keep things ticking over. On the values side, Ireland has to prioritise concrete action. We can talk about supporting the rule-of-law mechanisms, humanitarian leadership and maintaining a clear and principled stance in Ukraine, Gaza and other global conflicts like Sudan but what President Costa said today is only lip service when other EU member states refuse to stand up to the Israeli genocide because of their historic guilt or their geographic proximity. We are only talking the talk unless we use our leadership over the next while to put more pressure on Germany, Denmark and the likes of Cyprus to get tougher with Israel. We can still be friends, but we have to draw the line at some stage, just like we have in many ways drawn the line and risked the ire of the Trump Administration with our fairly modest occupied territories Bill. It would be great to see the occupied territories Bill passed during this term, and also for the Government to try to stretch it out to services. Let the legal eagles come in and show why it cannot be done, but let us push the boat rather than saying we are not even going to try it. We have to show true leadership in this context and maybe put a few noses out of joint among our partners because that is what you do when you are showing leadership - you tell it as it is. We are no longer trying to play the national card for the next six months; we are trying to play the European and the global card. On security, we again have a constructive role to play in strengthening EU co-operation on all sorts of security - energy security, which relates to the conflict in Ukraine; and cybersecurity, because again there are many malicious elements out there trying to attack European member states, be it from Russia, troll farms or other as yet unmentioned terrorist organisations or countries. We can lead without compromising on our long-standing policy of military neutrality. I take it from the Government's statement that we will not, but I just want to say anyway that we must not hinder the closer defensive co-operation of those other states which want to get involved. We know all too well, especially those in eastern Europe, Poland and the Baltic states, the dangers of being unprepared. On the wider delivery front, the Government has to focus on getting agreement across the line. Rather than just talking, let us see what agreements will be passed during these six months and what EU legislation will be further advanced and ready to sign off. It should not be a holding Presidency or just a thematic Presidency; it should be a tangible and transformative Presidency. I know this is a big ask in six months but we only get it every now and again and we have to use this time. I urge the Minister of State to be as firm, blunt and forceful as possible and, as I have said, put a few noses out of joint if needs be and we can repair the collateral damage afterwards.

Sentiment score: 0.28