Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Members have justifiably drawn attention to different parts of the Council’s conclusions. On the wording of the Common Security and Defence Policy, CSDP, they should note that conclusion 2 states: "Today, the European Council is making a strong commitment to the further development of a credible and effective CSDP, in accordance with the Lisbon treaty and the opportunities it offers". The latter part of that sentence - “in accordance with the Lisbon treaty and the opportunities it offers” - is the key part which addresses some of the concerns raised by Members about compatibility between the conclusion and Ireland’s neutrality. It recognises the safeguards for Ireland in the Lisbon treaty which, in turn, rests on Article 29.4.9° of the Constitution which lays out clearly what the country can and cannot do regarding defence policy. If I look at the understandable concerns raised by Members as to what the CSDP could look like in the future, I point to what it has done in the past and now, as well as Irish participation in it. We should look at the work of the Defence Forces in Chad, Somalia and Mali where the men and women of the Defence Forces have been engaged in activities completely consistent with our neutrality, as well as its safeguards in the Lisbon treaty. It is about protecting and promoting vulnerable communities which need support to protect their human rights. In other cases, it is about the country’s security interests.

Deputy Timmy Dooley raised the issue of those economies trying to address unemployment and mentioned that there was a lack of investment and credit going into them. The European Investment Bank, EIB, an EU institution, has been given an enhanced role to deal with the lack of credit in particular economies. Last year in Ireland €1.2 billion worth of investment was either approved or underscored by the EIB, including projects such as the Grangegorman-Dublin Institute of Technology campus and the Luas BXD line. That investment represents an increase of four fifths on the level in 2011. That is a direct recognition by the European Union of the difficulties economies face in securing credit.

Deputy Seán Crowe referred to the conflict in the Central African Republic. The Government - I explained this in the Dáil before Christmas - has underscored its grave concern about what is happening there. We participated in the United Nations process on this matter and support the African Union’s plan to deploy 6,000 troops to the region, under a UN mandate, to protect those facing a humanitarian crisis.

I was in Ukraine in mid-November and visited Independence Square in Kiev where I saw at first hand the concerns and hopes of the people. The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Catherine Ashton, and the Foreign Affairs Council, after the negotiations that took place at the partnership summit in November, have continued to engage where they can with Ukraine to put in place a model of engagement which can, I hope, play a part in diffusing the grave crisis that the people face.

Regarding the discussion at the Council on migration and people flows, the October Council decided to put in place a task force to come up with quick interventions to deal with the tragedy on Lampedusa. The December Council endorsed some of the specific measures in the task force’s report for reinforced border surveillance and to support those member states experiencing a disproportionate share of these people flows. The people concerned are leaving troubled countries in fraught and desperate circumstances to look for a better life. The Council also endorsed Europol to do more in the fight against human trafficking, smuggling and organised crime.

I did my best to address the concerns about the CSDP earlier which were expressed again by Deputies Joe Higgins and Richard Boyd Barrett.

Anything the country does - I was at the European Council and aware of the discussion taking place - specifically recognises the status of our neutrality, as laid down in the Constitution and recognised in the Lisbon treaty. Anything we have done to date and will do in the future recognises and will recognise the clear parameters laid down in the Constitution and the Lisbon treaty. There should be no doubt or ambiguity in this regard.

As for the point raised with me by Deputy Peter Mathews regarding the ambition of the Government in dealing with its level of debt and the components thereof, as someone who is privileged to play a role in this regard, I can only assure the Deputy that the Government is following this in a determined fashion to address the issue.

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