Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Cheann Comhairle as an deis fáilte eile a chur roimh bhallraíocht na Romáine agus na Bulgáire go luath insan Aontas Eorpach.

It is deeply ironic that today an unelected, politically appointed Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, spoke here and participated in a political debate at the invitation of Deputy Deasy and his party leader, supported by the Labour Party and the Progressive Democrats. I too supported the call for her to speak here. While today's exercise was marginally useful in respect of the debate on agriculture within the European Union, it dramatically highlighted the hypocrisy of Deputies Kenny, Rabbitte and Harney, and their respective parties who have venomously opposed affording the same rights to democratically elected representatives of the Irish people living in the six north-eastern counties. Now that we have had an EU day——

See this speech in context