I did not criticise him for that.
Sentiment score: 0.34
No, I am obviously not.
Sentiment score: -0.30
I am answering questions on the European Council last week.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I will answer these because there is a lot of stuff here. It is kind of a free-for-all. I am happy to answer but in some ways I am limited to answering on what comes before the European Council. I do not have information on some specific items that were not discussed at the European Council and nor am I the Minister of State with responsibility for some areas. I do want to take one point, however, that has been raised by a number of people, particularly Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, with regard to the Taoiseach apparently not meeting with the UN special rapporteur for Palestine. The Taoiseach met with her boss, the Secretary General of the United Nations, at the European Council last week and raised directly with him, in front of the other leaders, the situation in Palestine and Ireland’s concerns and, indeed, many of the concerns that were raised here in the Dáil. I want to put that on the record because it is very important. There is a lot of misinformation going out here regarding what the Taoiseach did or did not say at the European Council but I can say very clearly that he did that at the European Council. It is also important for people to understand what the European Council is. Ireland does not decide the conclusions of the European Council. Ireland is one of 27 countries that come together with their various views and nuances that exist in every single country and we work together, not to take minutes, as some people have put it, but instead to give direction to the European Commission, the Council and the Parliament as to where we see things going in a general way. The workflow in those institutions follows from that. It is also very important to note, because there is a lot of talk about war, peace and everything, that defence policy is a matter for member states and the conclusions - the bit the Deputy did not read out in the Chamber - refer to the specific traditions of certain member states. It is written in there, acknowledging countries like Ireland, Austria, Cyprus and Malta. I assume the specific issue Deputy Boyd Barrett raised on the Central Bank is a matter for the Department of Finance and can be answered there. Ireland was to the fore in putting our voice forward in the conclusions. For example, I raised the issue of airstrikes at the General Affairs Council on the Tuesday before the meeting in preparation for the meeting. It happened the night before. I am glad there was reference to that there. Again, there were 27 countries around the table, all with different nuances and views. On energy, the biggest decoupling we need is decarbonisation. That is the decoupling we need. It is something Sinn Féin has opposed time and again in regard to the various measures we have been taking to try to decarbonise and remove that link between natural gas and energy prices but Sinn Féin has opposed every measure we have brought in. Sinn Féin speaks out of both sides of its mouth on that.
Sentiment score: 0.16
I understand the question.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I cannot speak for the Signal conversations. We saw what was said there. I cannot speak either for pressure on people to spend money on defence. I think Deputy Lahart summed it up best. He mentioned the Nordic countries and said they are terrified but prepared. That is why these individual countries, not the EU, want to spend more on their own defence. I have here a booklet that has been sent out to every house in Sweden by the Swedish Government, “In case of crisis or war”. Every house in Sweden is getting that, a country which is an exemplar of a social democracy. It is a country that we speak about very regularly in the context of things like the Swedish model of childcare and how women can go out to work because of the childcare model. It has an advanced social security system that looks after all sections of society. However, as Deputy Lahart says, they are terrified but prepared. Defence spending, as I said, is a member state competence. We are doing it ourselves anyway. We decided to do that as part of the Commission on the Defence Forces. That pressure to increase spending is coming from the threat it sees from Russia, which Ukraine has suffered in the land invasion and which other countries have seen in cyberattacks. We were the victim of a well-known cyberattack among other cyberattacks that have not been publicised. This is very important. It is important we prepare ourselves to protect that social safety net that countries like Sweden, and indeed Ireland, aspire to and have put in place at world-leading levels. It is important that we protect our economy. Tariffs were mentioned by Deputy Boyd Barrett in this context too. Everyone is against tariffs because they cut growth and jobs but when we had the Canada trade agreement three or four years ago it was a big debating point in the Dáil. That reduces tariffs to zero or near-zero on trade with Canada, the friendliest country in the world. One of the Green Party TDs went to the High Court to stop it. Sinn Féin, through An Phoblacht, said it was a threat to our democracy. The Social Democrats wanted a risk analysis of this tariff-free agreement with Canada. That is the reality from the Opposition and now it is bemoaning tariffs. On this side of the House, Fianna Fáil in particular and Fine Gael also have always supported free trade. The Deputies opposite told us the Canada trade agreement was a threat to our democracy. It is called CETA, probably the worst-named treaty ever. It should have just been called the Canada trade agreement and people would not have had any difficulty with it. We do not want tariffs. A question was asked about what we have done in terms of discussions on tariffs. The Taoiseach went to visit President Trump and this issue was on the agenda. Everybody saw that. The Tánaiste has had interactions and conversations with the commerce secretary and Commissioner Šefčovič. I met Commissioner Šefčovič last week. In response to what Deputy O'Donoghue said about the pharmaceutical industry, I made it very clear that it is not just an Irish asset but a European asset in terms of protecting ourselves and our security of health care. Commissioner Šefčovič is well aware of that. On what Deputy Lahart said about simplification, the easiest way to describe this, as the Taoiseach described it, is to reduce red tape. The leaders call on the Commission, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament to work towards achieving the target of reducing administrative burdens by at least 25% to 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises; to advance work on the packages that have been published already; and to adhere to better regulation principles throughout the legislative process. This is a step change from the European Union, while acknowledging that we need to protect workers, the environment and consumers. In some cases, business regulation has gone too far and has stifled investment, economic growth and job creation in Europe. We are going to push that forward and I look forward to doing my bit at the General Affairs Council.
Sentiment score: 0.14
To respond to some of the Deputies' comments, the Opposition vociferously opposed the trade agreement with Canada. I was asked what we will do about tariffs. What we do about them is we have trade agreements where we reduce the tariffs to nothing or nearly nothing. Every time we do that, there are High Court cases and Opposition motions. We had all those photographs on Twitter, "they all voted for CETA." We all voted for zero tariffs with Canada, the friendliest country in the world, and we are proud of that. The Opposition's stance at the time was grossly misinformed and grossly opposed to the economic interests of this country. Deputies were given absolute clarity that the investor court system was no threat whatsoever to public services in this country. On the EU-Israel association agreement, review of compliance by Israel with its obligations under that agreement is a priority for Ireland. Every agreement between the European Union and another country must be grounded in international law. That is absolutely clear and the Irish Government has been very clear on it. In response to Deputy Toole's question on Ukraine, I do not have the full details of the various mechanisms for funding in Ukraine but they have been a mixture of grants, loans, development assistance, practical assistance and advice. I can get the Deputy a summary of the various supports that have come from the European Union and its member states. On healthcare, it was a big feature of the European Council agendas during the Covid period. There are meetings of the Council of Health Ministers regularly enough but health is not a core competence of the European Union. Mostly what we do on healthcare is at national level. To answer Deputy Lahart on the Presidency, Ireland is going to hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of next year. It is a huge opportunity for us not simply to drive an Irish agenda but to drive the agenda of the European Union in that period. I will certainly be happy to give Opposition and Government TDs a full briefing on that in due course. At the moment it looks like we will have about 250 meetings in Ireland. There will be significant opportunities to show what Ireland can do and how well we can do as a modern, independent country.
Sentiment score: 0.25
I answered.
Sentiment score: 0.00
I thank Deputies for their statements and questions. I will address some of the issues that the Taoiseach did not go into in great detail. He did mention them and spoke about the multi-annual financial framework and new own resources. Some of my contribution will be as Gaeilge. I wish to address the issues of migration, which Deputy Lahart raised, oceans, and multilateralism. In respect of the next multi-annual financial framework, EU leaders held their first exchange of views on the EU's long-term budget, for which the Commission is expected to present proposals in the summer, and negotiations for which will reach a bit of a climax during our Presidency. Our priorities are for security, prosperity and values. In these turbulent times, forging a secure and competitive Europe is crucial for all member states. It is clear that difficult negotiations lie ahead for all member states, given the increasing financial needs across a range of policy areas. Ireland sees value in collectively financing European public goods that create clear dividends, such as research and innovation and the development of cross-border infrastructure, in particular increasing investment in energy grids, interconnections and digital networks. It is also very important for Ireland that there is a fully funded Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and this is something of a priority for the Government. In my discussions at the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, at my level this has been one of my priorities. Our position is that the social, environmental and economic impacts and spill-over benefits of CAP throughout the country, but particularly, of course, in rural Ireland, cannot be underestimated. The European Council discussed the means of financing the EU budget, to which the Taoiseach referred in respect of increasing needs, with reference to own resources. The majority of funding for the EU budget is drawn from contributions from national governments, based on gross national income, GNI. This ensures that each member state contributes according to their relative income and that all member states play their part in financing common EU goals. The GNI metric also ensures the EU budget has the necessary resources to finance its objectives. Ireland is willing to consider proposals for genuine new own resources that meet the objectives of simplicity, transparency and equity, including burden sharing, as agreed in July 2020. However, we are not simply looking to repackage existing taxation into own resources. On migration, which Deputy Lahart raised, I can update the House that EU leaders welcomed an update they received from President von der Leyen, as well as the European Commission’s proposal on a new common European system for returns, published on 11 March. The European Council called on the Commission and Parliament to make progress, as a matter of priority, on files with a migration dimension. The EU is prioritising migration. We need a swift examination of the recent proposal on returns. Our position is very clear. We must address the shared challenge of migration, through collective effort, including on returns, in accordance with fundamental rights and international law. We fully support EU efforts to intensify co-operation on migration with countries of origin and transit, through mutually beneficial partnerships, in order to address the root causes and fight trafficking and smuggling with a view to preventing irregular departures and loss of life. We cannot not lose sight of the benefits that migration can bring, but migration must occur in accordance with the law. Legal migration is welcome and it plays a vital role in our economies. Fáiltíonn Éire roimh chonclúidí ón gComhairle Eorpach maidir leis na haigéin, go háirithe i bhfianaise na ndúshlán domhanda agus geopholaitiúil atá ann faoi láthair. Mar Stát aigéin mór de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh, aithnímid an luach a bhaineann leis an acmhainn nádúrtha ríthábhachtach seo a chosaint agus a fhorbairt i gcoinne na mbagairtí a bhaineann le cáilliúint bithéagsúlachta, truailliú agus athrú aeráide. Tacaímid leis an obair atá ar bun ag an gCoimisiún comhshocrú Eorpach um na haigéin a fhorbairt mar thionscnamh uaillmhianach uileghabhálach chun réimsí beartais mhuirí a chomhtháthú ar bhealach níos fearr. Aithnímid acmhainneacht an gheilleagair ghoirm, lena n-áirítear iascach agus dobarshaothrú inbhuanaithe, iompar muirí, foinsí in-athnuaite amach ón gcósta agus turasóireacht mhuirí gan ach roinnt earnálacha a ainmniú. Ní mór iad sin a mheas laistigh den chomhshocrú aigéin, ar comhshocrú é nach mór é a bheith comhordaithe, nach mór a bheith in ann é a chur chun feidhme, nach mór tacaíocht a bheith aige le cistiú iomchuí agus nach mór eolaíocht láidir mar bhonn taca leis. Tá Éire i mbun rannpháirtíocht dhearfach leis an gCoimisiún Eorpach chun an comhaontú aigéin seo a fhorbairt agus táimid ag tnúth leis an gCoimisiún an comhaontú aigéin a chur i láthair den chéad uair ag Lá Muirí na hEorpa i gCorcaigh i mí na Bealtaine. Rinne an Chomhairle Eorpach a machnamh ar na hullmhúcháin do Chomhdháil na Náisiún Aontaithe maidir leis na hAigéin, a bheidh ar siúl in Nice ón 9 go dtí an 13 Meitheamh 2025. Tá toscaireacht á cur le chéile ag Éirinn chun freastal ar an gcomhdháil seo, faoi stiúir na polaitíochta. I dteannta ballstát eile den Aontas Eorpach atá ar aon intinn linn, tacaímid leis an éileamh go ndéanfaí níos mó gníomhaíochta domhanda maidir le cosaint agus athbhunú na n-aigéan ag an gcomhdháil seo. The importance of multilateralism was also discussed at the Council. The Taoiseach discussed this matter in detail with the UN Secretary General.
Sentiment score: 0.21