Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for the absence of my colleague and leader, Deputy Gerry Adams, who, unfortunately, is attending a funeral at Glasnevin Cemetery. He is speaking at the funeral of its resident historian, curator and tour guide, Shane MacThomáis, who was a long-standing member of Sinn Féin. Ar dheis dé go raibh a anam. I am sure the House shares my view on the unfortunate death of this young man and that at some stage others will have their own remarks to make.

Last week we were told the European Council had agreed the shape of a new single resolution mechanism and its fund as the final piece of the banking union jigsaw. However, it is highly questionable whether that fund is fit for purpose and whether what was achieved last week will do anything to separate banking and sovereign debt. There is serious concern about the European Union's plan for banking union. It appears Germany's interests have, once again, triumphed over everybody else's. This view is shared by other parties across Europe. It will be years before the fund is established as it was meant to be and in terms of how it was perceived it would be rolled out. The ECB stress tests will tell the story of how far down the road to normality the banks have come. The SME sector, in particular, will watch with concern how things develops.

Does the Taoiseach have an update on the restructuring talks with the European Commission about Permanent TSB? This is a concern for many of my constituents and others across the country.

There has been no progress on the important issue of retrospective recapitalisation of Irish banks. Last week a number of players failed to support the Irish cause for retrospective recapitalisation in the European Parliament. It seems the Government's political allies are the roadblock across Europe to retrospective recapitalisation of pillar banks and I am disappointed that there is no agreement on it. There were all sorts of signals that this would happen but that has not come about.

There has been mention of Ukraine, and Deputy Martin spoke about the Sinn Féin position on the Russian invasion of Crimea, implying that Sinn Féin had gone soft on the matter. When the Russian ambassador recently attended a meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, I thought I was as robust as any member. I was equally robust with the Ukrainian representative when he attended, and I spoke of the worry I had about the make-up of that country's interim government. The European Council has roundly condemned Russia on its actions in Crimea, and I have routinely called for open dialogue between all sides in Ukraine, respect for human rights and for foreign powers to end hostilities and rising tensions by stating they will not militarily intervene and will stop meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. I have stated this on a number of occasions, and I made it quite clear when speaking during the pre-Council statements in the Dáil. I have also previously mentioned in the House that the zero-sum geopolitical game played by both sides is doing nothing but harm to ordinary Ukrainians and inflaming further tensions.

News broke yesterday that Ukrainian special forces shot dead a far-right Ukrainian leader of the neo-Nazi Right Sector group in a shoot-out. That is another incident likely to raise tensions between Kiev's new interim Government and the rest of the ultra-nationalist groups within the country that have secured between seven and nine key places in the government. These are ministerial positions, including that of the deputy prime minister. This episode highlights the fragility of the new opposition-led coalition, which has so far failed to persuade militia groups to disarm or step aside. This is the difficult backdrop faced by the interim government.

The Council welcomed the Ukrainian Government's commitment to ensuring the representative nature and inclusiveness of the government structures, reflecting regional diversity and a commitment to protect minorities. This does not seem to be what is happening on the ground. Previously I spoke about people from a Jewish background, with the rabbi of Kiev telling us that people have had to leave the country. The European Council has indicated one reality but others indicate the opposite. Am I in a minority in saying I have seen nothing from the interim Government in Ukraine reflecting any inclusiveness or a new approach? The Council has committed to signing new, deep and comprehensive trade agreements with Ukraine, but these depend on macroeconomic reform; I presume this is just another word for austerity. The conclusions state that an agreement with the International Monetary Fund is critical to all economic reforms. The Ukrainian people have suffered enough but it seems they will also come under the observation and dictatorial practices of the IMF, which is the organisation that was central to enforcing the crippling austerity measures in EU countries, including this one, which have brought nothing but unemployment, the destruction of social services and a worsened economic climate.

The conclusions state that substantial progress has been made towards the attainment of EU targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, renewable energy and energy efficiency which must be fully met by 2020. I had hoped the Taoiseach would go into more detail about the progress made on that front, and perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy Donohoe, will focus on the area in his reply. We know climate change is one of the most serious and destructive issues facing our planet. According to the annual report of the World Meteorological Organization, the UN's weather agency, much of the extreme weather that wreaked havoc in Asia, Europe and the Pacific region in 2013 can be directly blamed on human-induced climate change. The report states that 2013 was the sixth warmest year on record, with 13 of the 14 warmest years occurring in the 21st century. The big risks and overall effect of climate change are far more immediate and local than scientists once thought. This is not purely a geographical issue or about melting ice or threatened animals and plants. Climate change is making human problems such as hunger, disease, drought, flooding, war and refugee issues far worse.

I am worried that in trying to reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, EU countries will increasingly turn to biofuels. A mass increase in the harvesting of biofuels has its own environmental impact, such as soil erosion and drought, and there is a massive impact on food production and price volatility in that market, which affects the poorest on the planet. I hope these issues were discussed in an open and frank way at the meeting, and I hope the Minister of State will focus on the Council's intentions in this regard. For example, will there be discussion on replacement by European countries of food crops with biofuels, what companies are involved and what Europe will do about this?

I also note that the recent revival of the Cypriot reunification talks was raised at the European Council meeting. We all welcome the recommencement of these talks and give the Cypriot Government complete support in its efforts to reunite the partitioned country. Unfortunately, although it was agreed between negotiating parties that no inflammatory statements would be released while negotiations were ongoing, the Turkish Government has continued to release unhelpful comments relating to the talks, specifically by referring to "two nations" and "two states". Like me, I am sure the Taoiseach sees that as being extremely unhelpful and a breach of faith. Will he use this opportunity to again call for a cessation of such unhelpful statements?

The European Council conclusions state it will support any confidence-building measures agreed by the parties in that region. Does that include the Famagusta declaration? This declaration proposes the formula for a return of Varosha to the UN, the opening of the Famagusta port to international maritime lines and the declaration of the walled city of Famagusta as a UNESCO world heritage monument as a key confidence-building measure. I hope the EU and the Irish Government will take a more proactive approach to the issue, giving the Cypriot Government and the negotiators their full support. Considering the history and current partition of our nation, I would like to see the Government play a much more supportive role in this regard. Were any of the issues discussed with the Cypriot leadership at the meetings?

The Cypriot people will look to Ireland to take the lead, as it has in the past.

It is welcome that the Council discussed human rights, accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka and that its conclusions call for the adoption of a resolution on Sri Lanka at the Human Rights Council which would provide for an international investigation into alleged war crimes, as recommended by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Sri Lankan Government has continually tried to dodge all calls for an independent international investigation into these crimes and continued abuses of Tamil citizens’ human rights. I hope the Council and individual member states will place serious pressure on Sri Lanka and insist that it begin this investigation.

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