Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I had logged in online and then I was in the Chamber so I heard the opening contributions. I thank the witnesses for being here. A lot has already been covered by my colleagues. I might just touch on a couple of matters raised by the witnesses. I will go to Dr. Colfer first. He spoke about the inevitable future tilt to the east. What would he see as the things that might concern Irish people most? What would we be looking at in terms of cultural differences, differences of opinion on the rule of law or how the Union should work? I will preface this by saying that I am actually quite excited about enlargement. I think it is a really positive thing. We cannot stand still. We have to keep moving forward and for all those reasons, such as China and Russia and the different geopolitical situations, we have no choice but to move forward and to enlarge. It should be viewed in a positive way but I would just be interested to hear about what might crop up with that tilt to the east.

I also acknowledge what Dr. Colfer said about needing to talk more domestically about the costs of non-enlargement. That is a good piece of advice to us as public representatives because we will be engaged in those debates and we need to talk about the fact that it is not without cost if we do not move forward. There are risks there as well.

Professor Barrett mentioned the EU's inadequacies around foreign defence and energy policy, which were highlighted by the war in Ukraine. Would he please elaborate a little more on what those inadequacies are? He also said that enlargement is coming and that requires preparation. Would he have any advice for us on what preparation would look like in an Irish context? What should we be doing domestically now to prepare for that? He also said that the budgetary implications of enlargement need to be agreed by 2027. Is that realistic? Does he think we will achieve that?

My final question is for all the witnesses. I do not believe it has been discussed. It is about the proposed changes to defence at an EU level and the defence union. That is a topic that seems to provoke a very strong response from different quarters in our country. The Tánaiste recently held the consultative form on defence at three different locations, with dates in Cork and Galway and two in Dublin. I attended the event in Galway. I would have a particular interest in that area anyway, having been in the Reserve Defence Force for a number of years and been my party's defence spokesperson. I think there has been a mood change. Maybe I am naïve to think this but I think there has been a slight mood change in the country, particularly after the cyberattack on the HSE. The war in Ukraine has also brought war much closer. It is in Europe. It is not in the EU but it is on our borders. The Commission is very keen to stress that there will be no implications for the neutral status of any particular country. What do the witnesses see happening in the next five years with regard to the development of that defence union? What might be required of Ireland engaging in that? We have no choice but to engage in that process. I do think the Irish public are more open to those conversations now because we have had real domestic examples of where our defence situation is not adequate.