Ms Bríd McGrath:

I will come in on a general point. In Ireland, as far as I understand, the SDGs are the subject of a whole-of-government approach. In the round, where are the grounds for optimism? Where is the true pessimism and what we can do about it? The grounds for optimism are essentially in the youth of Africa and the global south. The more they are educated and the more the SDGs work there, that is good.

Regarding Deputy Howlin's point on the grounds for pessimism, it looks as though the EU is throwing in the towel. The elections have not even happened, but people see the move towards the right. We would argue that one should not run scared of the far right. How do you do this? It is not an easy thing. We must address the inequality the Senator spoke about at home and abroad. We must show where the true power and the true wealth lies. We must look up to where it really is and must not look across at each other or look down.

We spoke of the briefing book, which states nakedly that the new role of the EU in the world will be economic self-interest. We have to explain to everybody that that is a dangerous world. Aping the other power blocs or competing with them in relation to what they do will make us all less safe. It will be a world of resource wars, conflict and more forced migration. Worryingly, that briefing book speaks of how 70% of the cobalt is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We all know what happens when there is a scramble for resources in the likes of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We must be really clear that we should lead from the front and have the EU be the honourable one and, in that sense, we must partner a true partnership with the Global South. If we stand by our word, those emerging markets, as some people call them, or countries will want to do business with the EU. The EU can then be the leader it says it is.