As we assume the EU Presidency, it is important we set out the context we now face globally. To one side of Europe, we have an aggressive Russia which, to this day, continues to take the lives of Ukrainians in its illegal war, while to the other side, we have the United States which, for the first time since the Second World War, has an outwardly aggressive tone towards its dealings with Europe. We have a bloc of countries that, despite the huge market we command, are falling behind competitively when it comes to the US and China. Ultimately, as we assume this Presidency, Europe is scrambling - scrambling to increase defence spending, scrambling to tackle a housing crisis that is felt more acutely in Ireland, and scrambling to reduce our reliance on the United States as it moves toward an isolationist economic and foreign policy. Post Brexit and post tariffs, there is no doubt Europe is bruised. We have an opportunity over the next six months to turn the tide. This Government, which has been known to keep the handbrake on when coming to any decision, can choose to take it off. The Irish Presidency will have three key priorities: competitiveness, values and security. The worry is that when it comes to those priorities at home, this Government has kept the handbrake on and, because of this, it has failed. Why should people believe our Presidency of the EU will be any different, and if it will be different, why has that same effort not been shown at home? With security, we know defence and security are the focus of Brussels, and in many respects, they should be, but how can we be leading that conversation? This Government is more interested in debating the triple lock than providing real investment in the State’s own defence. We sit bottom of the EU table in terms of defence spending, and no matter how impressive the men and women in our armed forces are, we are not equipping them with the tools to do their job as effectively as possible. It is why we continue to rely on the RAF and, now, the French military. President Zelenskyy, who I am glad was able to return to Ireland today, was put at risk in December by this State’s underinvestment in our own defence capabilities. We have also still not got real answers to the drone incursion. Neither the Members of this House nor the defence committee know the exact details of what happened that day, and that is hugely concerning. As we discuss air defences in committee over the next week, I request again that the Minister would brief the committee properly on those drone incursions. If we are going to be steering conversations on defence, Ireland needs to get more serious on its own. This is not a call to waste money or to start buying up tanks. It is, however, a call to pay members of the Defence Forces better so that we can improve recruitment and retention. It is a call to invest in drone technologies, as suggested by President Zelenskyy earlier, to move away from our reliance on the RAF, to invest in our navy to move away from our reliance on the French navy, and to invest in Army barracks across the country and more. I welcome the Government's willingness to double down on European support for Ukraine, including its accession to the EU and the ongoing accession of Moldova and other countries. The more nations that want to join the EU, the more it shows that while Europe might be bruised, it is not beaten. We sit at a window of opportunity now that this State has to deliver not just in security, which is a key component, but also, as the Government has outlined, on our values. What are those values, and will we apply them universally? The EU is rightfully vocal when it comes to Russia and its illegal invasion of Ukraine, but that conviction disappears, certainly in many member states, when it comes to criticising Israel and the genocide it has committed in Gaza. Will Europe pressure the US to stop the blockade and the subsequent starving of the Cuban people? I am a proud European, but we need to acknowledge the hypocrisy the EU can display, and the need for a new direction. A Cuban life should not be worth any less than a Ukrainian or Palestinian life. All life is the same. Our values are on display on the international stage while we hold this Presidency, but our values at home and how we bring them to the Presidency are equally important. The website that has been set up for the Presidency states, "We will work to support a socio-economic model that emphasises societal resilience, inclusion and cohesion, and will take forward initiatives on employment, supporting quality jobs within modern labour markets." Societal resilience comes from equity in opportunity, so I ask that as part of the values portion of our Presidency, Ireland focuses on housing. There is no equity in opportunity between the older and the younger people living in Ireland. Thirty-year-olds are stuck living in a box room at home, or paying €2,500 for a studio apartment in Dublin. We have a generation who according to the ESRI will be worse off than their parents and because of that, as sure as night turns to day, we will continue to see a breakdown in societal resilience, not just in this country but across Europe. We need a radical reset, and that means State intervention in the housing market and State building, but more than that, and this Presidency gives us the opportunity to say this, we should be looking at the EU taking a much bigger role in housing across Europe. Supply is the only way that we will drive prices down. We need big institutions to be playing bigger roles. Ireland has the opportunity now to get the ball rolling in that direction. This needs to be a Presidency that is prepared to be bold and dynamic and to rip up the rules that the EU has in place where the US and China have pulled away from us economically. The Government is saying a lot of the right things on the competitiveness front - simplifying rules, a more integrated Single Market, accelerating the energy transition - and if all these happen, I will be the first to put my hands up and say well done, but nothing this Government has shown in running this country gives me confidence that it can drive these objectives at a European level. The Government does not have a history of simplifying rules. Just look at the new rural housing policy or the new rental rules - the list goes on. We are the furthest away from achieving an energy transition. We are missing targets, embracing LNG and ignoring opposition on it to boot, and we have an energy grid that is falling apart from years of underinvestment. On both those fronts, the jury is more than out on whether this Government can deliver. The next six months will be vital with regard to the direction Europe takes. I urge the Government to push Europe beyond what it is, and towards what it can be. With my remaining time, I would like to address another challenge the Presidency faces, which is the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and the realities of the tightness of the European budget. Let us be realistic about the resources at our disposal. The MFF is arguably the most demanding task that the Government will face over the next six months. The Minister of State knows that. We are facing a paradox: the demand for shared European investment in security, economic competitiveness, the CAP, cohesion funding and myriad other competing areas. This demand has never been higher, yet the overall budget remains intensely constrained. As impartial chair of these negotiations, Ireland must balance our desire for traditional cohesion funding and agricultural support with new, critical industrial investments. The reality is that we are looking at increased and competing demands while not increasing our spending. Frankly, no group is going to be happy with the outcome. There are a number of potential areas, long mooted, that we can examine at an EU level, including levies on online gambling, on digital services and big tech, and financial transactions or capital gains from crypto assets. An expanded Union cannot survive on solidarity, pretty speeches and well wishes. During our Presidency, we must push the conversation forward by integrating the practical, financial realities of expanding the Union into our MFF discussions, and we must seriously look at how we simplify decision-making across the bloc. Ireland knows first-hand how the EU can transform a nation from a peripheral, economically depressed state into a thriving, globalised hub. We understand the immense mutual benefits of this project, but with that privilege comes a profound responsibility to lead. I hope that we will.

Sentiment score: 0.16