Mr. Matt Carthy:

Obviously people misheard what I said. I have a very clear position on the CETA, the TTIP and other deals, as well as on the investment state dispute settlement because I believe it to be extremely dangerous. What I said was that we should have a frank and open debate on what exactly these deals meant and make a judgment call on what they meant for Ireland and let people make up their minds. My position was reinforced when people jumped up and seized on the very notion that we should even have a debate on these questions as if, somehow, all of a sudden we were opposed to free trade or in favour of protectionism. I said nothing of the sort and neither has any representative of Sinn Féin. The concept that because one supports the European Union one cannot be critical of what it does is exactly the one that led us into the difficulties with An Garda Síochána, whereby because we support its work we cannot question or criticise any particular element of that work. We know the mess we are in in that regard. Frankly, this is on a much lower scale than some of the fundamental deficiencies with the democratic accountability of the European Union. If those of us who support it do not stand up and demand that these inefficiencies, as well as its ineffectiveness and, frankly, unaccountability, be addressed, we are doomed to see huge fundamental failures.

Let me state when Sinn Féin MEPs are most comfortable at European Parliament level. We are most comfortable when we are able to adopt a single position with the Irish Government, the permanent representatives and our fellow Irish MEPs and we go into the European Parliament to battle with a united voice for Ireland. However, we do not ignore failures on the part of the Government and-or our colleagues when we believe they are taking positions that could be to the detriment of the people who elected us and will make no apologies for doing so.