Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh. Thank you for the opportunity. I thank our guests for joining us in person today, which is a novelty that we will get used to in due course as we, hopefully, all get back to normal.

It is great to hear the summary of what was a very ambitious state of the Union address. There is a couple of areas I will pick on and perhaps ask a few questions, based on the President of the European Commission, Dr. von der Leyen's comments and, indeed, some comments she did not make. It was an address talking about looking forward but I want to look back initially.

Ms Nolan mentioned the pandemic response and some of the supply chain and delivery issues of vaccines at the outset. I must state frankly that the citizens of the European Union were grossly let down by certain drugs manufacturers. I wonder if Mr. Nolan can provide an update on what actions are ongoing or will be taken by the European Commission against those companies that let the people of Europe so badly down when they needed them most and caused quite a lot of concern and heartache, particularly in this country. I am not an expert on the classics but the new health body is certainly an area where there is huge potential. In our engagement in relation to the future of Europe and our discussions, particularly with the Irish MEPs, this was an area that consistently came up. There is huge scope for the European Union as a collective to do so much more providing that connectivity.

In relation to new plans for security and defence co-operation, this is something that we in Ireland need to wake up to. We are not immune to the threats that the European Union faces on a daily basis and we have felt them, as Ms Nolan so rightly said, in the growing threat of cyberattacks, which are merely a fact of life these days. We need to be realistic, domestically, in terms of our investment in security and defence and on a European scale, on what our responsibilities to our European Union membership are. That does not mean a European Union army. It does not mean abandoning neutrality. However, we need to be much more realistic about what is required. It is nominally such a small part of the European budget but it is one that has so much impact. I would dread to think that one day in the future we would say that maybe we should have engaged a little more with our neighbourhood partners or committed a little more.

In relation to one of Ms Nolan's last points on the future of the rule of law, specifically, to the current situation in Poland, personally, I was cheered by the scenes in Warsaw on Sunday night to see tens of thousands of people taking to the street in defence of common European values. Ms Nolan might provide an update on what actions the European Commission is taking in that regard.

Two areas were not covered in the President of the European Commission's state of the Union address but I will take a liberty and raise them. The first is in relation to eurobonds and the future of eurobonds. One of the great achievements we should take from the pandemic is the ability of the European Union finally to come together and deliver on this mechanism that will benefit every citizen of this Union. In the post-pandemic era, it is one of the great learnings. How do we retain that ability and how do we use it to the best of every citizen, particularly in the more deprived and socioeconomically challenged areas?

Lastly, I refer to the current situation - it has been ever thus for the past five or six years - of the European Union's relationship with our nearest neighbour and former member, the United Kingdom. I appreciate your indulgence on this, a Chathaoirligh. Lord Frost's speech yesterday in Lisbon was extremely disappointing. I look forward to Commission Vice-President, Mr. Šefovi's announcements this evening. No doubt they will be generous and reactive to what the people of Northern Ireland want. I would be interested to get the European Commission's take on what are the next steps. Are we dealing with a trustworthy partner any more, and if we are not, how do we react going forward?