Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Two years ago, I was present in the European Parliament when the Taoiseach addressed Members on the future of Europe. I feared then that he had handed over a blank cheque, as he was the first European leader to commit to making an increased contribution to the EU budget, and, crucially, he did so without setting out what we would expect in return. Now, we are faced with the prospect of hundreds of millions of euro of additional Irish taxpayers' money going into the EU budget while, at the same time, seeing a reduction in the programmes that are important to our country.

I listened carefully to the Taoiseach's contribution in the hope that lessons had been learned. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Taoiseach spoke about the Council's budget proposal in the context of how Ireland got a leg-up in respect of EU funds in the past and that we now have a responsibility towards other, perhaps poorer, states. He spoke about the large levels of support that EU membership has among the Irish people. However, the budget proposals from the Council, just like those made by the Commission beforehand, are not about giving a leg-up to poorer states or building on the support for the EU among citizens.

Ask people in Ireland what they support about the EU, then detail the programmes that have benefited the Irish economy and society and compare them with the associated budget lines in the Council's proposals and those in the European Parliament's proposals. The proposals include a 13% reduction in regional development and cohesion, a 27% reduction in social cohesion and values, a 25% reduction in the LIFE Climate Action programme, a 48% reduction in the Erasmus+ programme and a 34% reduction in the Connecting Europe Facility. In addition, we are now faced with a massive cut to the most important budget line for the economy and, in particular, our rural communities, namely, the CAP.

While the Taoiseach has spoken about the need to protect CAP, he has not yet been unequivocal in stating he will reject any budget that does not do at least that. In fact, we should demand, at a minimum, that the CAP budget is increased in line with inflation. The family farm is under threat and, therefore, the rural communities that depend on such farms face further decline. CAP is just one of the measures that will play a role in addressing the threat, although it is not the only one. Farmers need fair prices for the goods they produce and an end to the stranglehold of retailers and processors on their sector. They need the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to start treating farmers as partners rather than enemies, and they need a radical rethink of EU trade deals such as the Mercosur agreement. Without a strong CAP, family farming will face an unprecedented crisis and, therefore, the Government cannot and must not support any EU multi-annual financial framework without one.

Listening to the Taoiseach's remarks earlier, I was astounded that he failed to reference the enormous expenditure proposed by the EU for military spending. Some €13 billion was proposed by the Commission and €8.3 billion by the Council for a new budget line that will go directly to the EU arms industry. This is not what the EU should be spending our money on. It is out of tune with the desires of citizens throughout Europe and completely out of sync with the position of a State that claims to be neutral. The proposition that Irish farmers, Irish communities and European citizens will see cuts in the programmes that make a positive difference while we divert those funds to an EU war machine is something that the Government must reject in the strongest possible terms. We have shown throughout the Brexit process that Ireland can help to shape EU policy in our interests and for the wider good. The people have said time and again that they want Ireland - all of Ireland - to be part of the EU, but they want that EU to serve citizens rather than corporations and vested interests such as the arms industry. That is the vision for a better EU that the next Government must bring to the heart of the debate on the future of Europe.

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