Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister that we need to find a way forward on this. For a decade, we have seen the undermining of democratic and human rights in parts of the European Union. At the same time, we have seen billions of euro in European Union funding flowing into these countries. The measures proposed currently are very limited. I do not believe they go far enough. They are as much of a compromise as we could possibly countenance. In terms of a way forward, if the veto continues to be used to block the budget, will Ireland support the other 25 European Union countries going ahead with the transition fund and the EU budget rather than allowing a few countries that are not willing to sign up to a very basic set of rules in terms of the rule of law to block progress?

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