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

I will respond first to Deputy Martin's questions on an area of agreement between us, namely, developments in Ukraine. I make the same point every time the House discusses Ukraine and developments in central and eastern Europe. There is no equivalence between the actions that were taken by the Russian Federation and European Union in the run-up to the crisis in Ukraine and since. The key point is that a democratically elected Government in Ukraine exercised its sovereign right to begin negotiations and discussions with the European Union. Ukraine began the process and the European Union participated in it. There was no coercion or force involved in Ukraine's decision to instigate the negotiations. In the run-up to the partnership summit in Vilnius, the Government of Ukraine took a different course of action and its decision was afforded the same respect as its decision to begin the negotiations. At each point in the process, the European Union has stressed the rule of law and the right and ability of countries to make sovereign decisions.

Last week, three countries, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova, exercised their democratic right to sign agreements to deepen their respective relationships with the European Union. The President of Ukraine, who was democratically elected in a vote that was overseen by international monitors, last week expressed his wish to deepen his country's relationship with the European Union, as is its right. There is no equivalence between the role of the European Union and Russia in this crisis.

I disagree with Deputy Martin's contention regarding the language used in the communiqué on youth unemployment. The conclusions of recent meetings of the European Council have all contained a recognition of the crisis of unemployment and an acknowledgment of the role of bodies such as the European Investment Bank and the Youth Guarantee, which is designed specifically to address youth unemployment. While I acknowledge that youth unemployment is a scar on society and unemployment is a crisis, I also welcome the ongoing decline in the number of people on the live register. Unemployment has fallen for the past 22 months in a row. The 66,000 jobs created last year also benefited young people.

On the climate change agenda, Ireland is committed to delivering the objectives that have been set for addressing climate change and reducing carbon emissions. We note, however, that these are challenging objectives which must recognise two factors. First, the unique characteristics of different economies must be recognised. Ireland, for example, has a very large agricultural sector, which plays an important role in the economy and society. We have ambitious plans for agriculture, which can play an important role in addressing issues such as food security. Second, it is essential to measure accurately the current position of the economy and understand what climate change targets will mean for us. The Government is engaged in discussions with the Commission on these matters.

Deputy Martin asked a series of questions on Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker. The Government's remains committed to dealing with bank debt and the portion of the national debt that can be ascribed to the need to support the banking sector. Mr. Juncker, as a member of the Eurogroup and the head of state of Luxembourg, was present during many of the discussions that took place in the run-up to the decision to recognise the need to break the link between sovereign and banking debt. The Government will continue to work with him on this issue.

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