Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This week's summit meeting marks the end of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. In his remarks today, the Taoiseach claimed to have achieved a great deal and I am sure he has done his best but it is a Presidency which is marked by missed opportunities. These include the failure to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East as well as more important matters closer to home. The most recent example is the Tánaiste's exaggeration about the outcome of negotiations on a potential EU deal on the multi-annual financial framework. This time, Deputy Gilmore's actions backfired badly and have potentially serious implications for Ireland's EU Presidency.

A proposal by the Irish Presidency to the European Council was elevated to the status of an achieved deal. As a consequence of his actions, the Tánaiste has created a storm of opposition to what was negotiated and some MEPs and parliamentary groups have now come out against it. While there has been some notable public discussion, little attention has been paid to the fact that what is on the table will not provide the funding necessary to deliver growth, jobs and, in particular, aid to the most deprived. That includes programmes to fight youth unemployment across the European Union.

I understand the Irish Presidency has not yet formally presented its proposal to member states. The General Affairs Council and ECOFIN meet this week. Will the proposed budget be presented at either of these meetings? Has the Government now formally backed down on the Tánaiste's original claim that there is a deal with the European Parliament? Can the Taoiseach clarify whether the EU budget or MFF will be on the agenda for this week's European Council meeting or will be discussed informally? This is not the first time Irish Ministers have tried to oversell the results of their negotiations at EU level. A year ago, the Eurogroup said it would "break the vicious circle between banks and sovereigns". The Taoiseach told the House that a deal had been done and that the legacy debt issue was sorted. The Tánaiste called the statement a game-changer and the Taoiseach referred to it as a seismic shift. Since then and during the Irish Presidency, there has been no progress on the claims that the Government made. What is now on the table appears to be only a partial break, or dilution, as Olli Rehn put it.

Under EU pressure, the State pumped €30 billion into the pillar banks. In fairness, the European union has admitted it made mistakes. The State caved in and agreed to repay the toxic Anglo Irish Bank debt. Ireland was a guinea pig in a failed experiment. We have seen in recent days how this debt was placed on the shoulders of the Irish people through a concerted effort by executives in Anglo Irish Bank to defraud the State and the light-touch regulation of Fianna Fáil in government. It is disgraceful, therefore, that the Government turned the bad banking debt of Anglo Irish Bank into sovereign debt. The Government has no problem imposing cuts on child benefit, funding for people with disabilities and respite care and implementing a tax on the family home. While it is unflinching in imposing austerity and cuts, it is mediocre when it comes to demanding a fair deal for Ireland from the other European Union member states. Whatever potential the Government claimed to have achieved last June has failed to materialise.

I will briefly deal with the issue of the Common Agricultural Policy. I note that talks on CAP have resumed in Luxembourg this week. The current system is badly skewed in favour of a small minority of recipients who receive the lion's share of the single farm payment. It is vital, therefore, that the new system includes a significant redistribution of those funds towards the majority of farmers, many of whom are struggling to maintain a viable income. There are a number of proposals on the table which can deliver reform. I strongly urge the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Simon Coveney, to support those proposals, which can bring about the required changes. We do not advocate that productive farmers should be at a loss but the claim that those who stand to benefit from a redistribution are unproductive is an insult to tens of thousands of small Irish farmers. It is not a valid defence of a system under which in some counties a handful of individuals and companies receive as much in payments as hundreds of others.

The ongoing conflict in Syria is a cause of great concern. Efforts by outside elements to bring even more arms into the region must be opposed. I welcome the Tánaiste's position on behalf of the Government. Will the Government actively promote this position at the summit?

See this speech in context