Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Táim an-bhuíoch as an deis seo caint faoin Aontas Eorpach.

I agree with what many of others have said, that is, the future of Ireland is solidly within the European Union. We have all seen the difficulties and madness of Brexit. We all accept the world in which we operate is complex and it is far easier to operate within it through co-operation with and alongside many partners.

I also agree with the many who have said it would be somewhat more difficult selling the wares of the European Union during the financial crisis and the period of the Troika. It could be said that the Union was committed to austerity far more than even the IMF. Through engagements at the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs and any dealings we have had with European Commissioners, I know there is some acknowledgement that lessons were learned at that time about how a wrong a road it was to go down and acknowledgement of the pain it caused. It actually weakened the European Union.

We saw solidarity in the block buying that happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, whereby the European Union was able to get countries to opt in and co-operate, even when it did have a competence in the area of health. That shows a means of co-operating into the future, which is positive.

It goes without saying that Ireland was shown considerable solidarity during the Brexit madness and the absolute madness and, at times, abject unlawfulness of what was being threatened by many British governments in recent times.

They have stayed absolutely steady as regards the Irish protocol. We are now in the period of the Windsor Framework. We hope that the DUP will work alongside many of the rest of us to form an Executive and provide people with the self-government that is required.

I do not think anyone will be shocked when I say the EU will also have a part to play in delivering on Irish unity. I think many have said before that the conversation is well and truly happening. There is still a failing at state level. I do not know whether resolving that would be a matter of expanding the shared island unit or talking about a citizens’ assembly. I have no difficulty with a citizens’ assembly being somewhat more substantial than some of the previous assemblies. I accept that it would have to deal with a significant number of issues, but we have to have those necessary conversations around what a new Ireland will look like and how we can provide room and space for all who live on this island. We can definitely do better than what has been done before.

The State has some necessary preparations to make. It is only the State and the Government that can do the heavy lifting in the context of those preparations and in moving us to a position where we can have a referendum. People can argue all they want from the point of view of having all the information in front of them. There will then be an onus on the likes of myself and others who want Irish unity to actually win that. I have no doubt the European Union will play a major role at that point.

There has been talk in respect of accession. It is fair to say that it is now a real conversation, whether we are talking about the western Balkans, Ukraine, Moldova or Georgia. There is an acceptance that there are still major rule-of-law issues across the European Union. We have to show other countries the roadmap they need to make it into Europe. However, we must be absolutely clear about what we want to see, and that is a liberal Europe. We want to see a Europe that looks after all its people. We do not want to see what we have seen in places like Hungary. We must ensure that those countries that want accession and those that are within the European Union can follow the sort of rules we want to see. We all accept that there are huge opportunities if we work together.

There has been much talk about climate change and the fact that Ireland could become a wind energy superpower. We must ensure that happens. There is certain work that needs to be done in this State, but we could change the energy map right across Europe. There is room for manoeuvre and co-operation across the board.

We have often spoken here about the scourge of drug crime on communities. Major issues of that sort can, to a great extent, be dealt with at European level. Europe has to be about justice. It has to be about justice for Ukraine and its people in the face of brutal Russian aggression. We also need to see fairness across the world, particularly in the context of what is happening to the Palestinian people. That is what the people of Ireland and the good people of Europe want to see, but the heavy lifting must be done by ourselves initially. Beyond that, we need to see that our people are really protected. Whether we are talking about energy security or matters relating to the cost of living, protection is required.

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