Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Brady. The multi-annual financial framework negotiated every seven years provides member states with the opportunity to point the European Union in a new direction towards a fairer, greener and more equal Europe. The negotiations on this budget have taken place during unprecedented times and they were lengthy. The people of European Union, and indeed the world, are reeling from the social and economic shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic. The real and immediate threat of the climate emergency is reshaping our lives and challenging us to adapt and change for the sake of our planet. In the midst of this turbulence and crisis, the negotiation of the this budget was one of those rare opportunities to kick-start real change.

Sadly, that opportunity has again been missed. What we agreed was not a stimulus plan. It was a package designed to impose reforms, as they are called, across the EU. I refer to the sort of reforms that we know all too well from the time that the last Government that Deputy Micheál Martin was in brought the troika to town. Linking the recovery funding to the European semester is a sure guarantee that ordinary people will again pay for the crisis just as they did the last time the Taoiseach and his party were in government. Meanwhile, the countries that least need it secure themselves rebates, which looks like a sort of inducement to get them to agree to the final package. In short, a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach has again signed us up to a continuation of austerity.

The Taoiseach has gone to great lengths to sell this as a great deal for Ireland. Nothing could be further from the truth. Try telling Irish workers and families that this is a good deal. Under this plan, Ireland will be eligible for just 0.4% of economic recovery grants in 2021 and 2022. That is less than half of one percent. This is not a win for people who shouldered the pain of the last recession and who are now dealing with the economic fallout from Covid-19. Try telling our family farmers that this is a great deal. Contrary to what the Taoiseach has asserted, the CAP is to be cut by 9% at a time when it is never more important that it be protected. The Taoiseach can hide behind complexity on this matter but the fact is that this is a very disappointing result for Irish agriculture. It poses a real threat to family farms that are already under pressure.

The Taoiseach should try telling our rural communities that this is a great deal. The proposed rural development recovery fund has been slashed by €15 billion. This is a huge blow to the prospects of Ireland's rural economy, to rural enterprise and to the sustainability of our towns and villages. He should try telling those who are committed to climate action built on climate justice that this is a great deal.

The just transition fund, designed to create jobs in sustainable industries and support those workers affected by changes to our economy, has been cut by €20 billion. How can the Government say it is committed to a green deal for Europe when it agrees to a budget that rows back on job creation in sustainable industries?

I acknowledge and welcome the inclusion of the €5 billion Brexit reserve fund for countries and sectors most affected by Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. Much more will need to be done urgently to secure better Brexit mitigation funding. Realistically, it a modest sum of money and it is important that the Irish Government secures a fair share of this funding in order to respond effectively to the significant economic difficulties posed by Brexit.

When one digs behind the headlines one can see clearly that this is not a great deal. Ireland is now a net contributor to the EU budget. However, this the deal completely fails to deliver in key areas for Ireland and, as such, it is a failure on behalf of the Taoiseach. He should have been more ambitious for Ireland. He should have stood stronger to protect Irish Interests. Unfortunately, he has settled for a deal that once again falls short for Ireland.

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