Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I was scratching my head with the Danish Presidency because I did not know the priorities. The reason I do not know them is because they have not been published yet. That was a good reason not to know them. The Danish Presidency starts on 1 July. Our priorities will be published sometime in June 2026. We will do a public consultation. Individual Departments and I will do it. I have already started it in a soft way, but we will intensify it now over the summer and beyond, to ask the public what they think. We will also ask this committee what it thinks our priorities should be. We will be very interested in that. The priorities are also determined by what is on the agenda at the moment in the EU and what big files have to be dealt with. There are certain things one cannot get away from. When Croatia took the EU Presidency in January 2020, it was not expecting Covid to dominate it. It was the same for the French when it took up the EU Presidency because the invasion of Ukraine happened on 22 February 2022. We will have to be prepared for the unexpected, as will the Danes. That is partly why those priorities are published at a late hour.

To be clear on the CAP, what is being said at the moment is entirely speculation, no matter who is saying it. I know some Commissioners have engaged on it and there have been stories, but the Commission has not published its proposal yet. It is important to remember that, when the Commission publishes something, people think it is the end of it but it is not; it is the start of it. It is then negotiated with the member states and between the member states. The European Parliament has to approve it, but it is not the same as the normal legislative process where the Parliament engages closely with the Council and the governments. The governments will essentially decide this and the Parliament will have to approve it. There is a lot of work to do. I expect our position paper to be somewhat different from what the Commission will propose. I expect other member states' position papers to be different from what the Commission will propose too. It is important that there is a bit of strategic patience when we see the Commission proposal. That is not the end of it; it is only the start, particularly on CAP. There will be some nuances in opinion on CAP among different parties, but I think it will be the objective of most parties to have that money coming to Ireland.

It is important that this committee and the agriculture committee engage with their counterparts in the European Parliament and other parliaments in our national negotiation to articulate the Senator's points, guided, I would hope, by the Government's position paper in the next year or a half or so. It is really important that we have our voices heard and that people are not just running to the media with scare stories, as we have already started to see - understandably enough because there is speculation out there. It is important that we have real engagement with our colleagues, particularly our colleagues in countries with similar views to our own. I expect France will have a similar position to us. I read recently that Germany will potentially have a similar position to us. That is really helpful, but what would be even more helpful is if bodies such as this committee were to engage with German and French colleagues on lots of issues, particularly on the budget, as we go forward and we discuss the range of issues mentioned by the Senator.

On energy policy, interconnection is very important. That may well be something we will be seeking from the budget, particularly in terms of our competitiveness and to make sure Ireland and Europe have energy security. I think it would be a case of knocking on an open door. If this were available, the Government would want it. It will be part of our negotiating position.

On Ukraine, there is a lot going on there, particularly war. It is very tough for the people there. I extend the words I have spoken to our diplomats in Iran, Ramallah and Tel Aviv to our colleagues in Kyiv whom I had the privilege of meeting when I was in Kyiv. It is a strange place because on the one hand there is a lot of normality in that city, while on the other it is really threatening, people are dying and missiles are being launched into residential areas. I was there with President Zelenskyy two days after 12 people were killed. Entire streets have been destroyed. It is incredible to see. I called a member of my team who did not go and we all commented on the destruction in a suburban constituency not much further than Senator Andrews's or Deputy Crowe's constituencies. It was just outside the city and the whole residential area was destroyed. A total of 12 were killed, 50 were injured and lots of homes were destroyed. It was horrific to see. We want an enduring sustainable peace for Ukraine and for its territorial integrity and independence to be respected. It is hard to see what is happening at a peace talk level. We have seen an unwillingness from Putin to get involved.

On Ukraine's membership of the European Union, which is becoming more essential in our own interest, its files are being blocked by Hungary for various reasons. We have been working with some of our colleagues to see whether there are ways around that. Ultimately, it is up to the unanimous decision of every member state for someone to join the European Union, but what is happening at the moment is that every step of the process is being blocked. We can never change the ultimate decision. It is in the treaties that it must be decided unanimously who does or does not join, but every step of the way Hungary is saying "No". That is a pity because it is necessary for all of us.

What sticks in my head about Ukraine, its Government and the people we met there is the lack of sleep. It is the one thing that struck me because they are up all night. The same is true in Gaza and anywhere where there is war, but I was in Ukraine. I do not know how they survive the sleepless nights and very tired days. The Deputy Prime Minister, Olha Stefanishyna, who has been known to many of us in recent years, has said Ukraine is in a war situation, it is trying to join the European Union and to please remember that this is a lot of effort. She used the word "effort". Ukraine is doing it pretty successfully and is making a lot of reforms in the country, but it is a lot of effort in the face of war and it is important we all remember that and give them whatever support and encouragement we can.