Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have to choose my words carefully as I only have two minutes and 57 seconds. Forgive me if I do not join in the hymn of praise. I am, nevertheless, obliged to say I am a proud Irishwoman and European woman. However, nowhere in the speech given by the Taoiseach did he refer to Palestine. I am going to quickly go back to something that was said earlier. One of the Social Democrats Deputies referred to the greatest threat to the European project as poverty. I second that. Poverty and inequality are threats, as is the twisting of language. The Minister and Minister of State should note that. Language means nothing any more when Israel tells us it had military targets. Nine children, among many other innocent people, are dead at a military target. Israel is one of the EU's biggest partners. Something is seriously wrong here. It is a serious threat to democracy when we twist language on its head.

I will not get through all of the notes I have made out but I will speak about the image of Europe that I see. Imagine having to declare this, but I am someone who, proudly, has family in Germany who speak fluent German. I am proud of them. We have all spent time in Germany. Let us leave that aside and look at the image we see of Europe as it progresses. We see fortress Europe and deaths in the Mediterranean Sea. I do think I will ever swim in the Mediterranean again, out of respect. The deaths of 621 migrants have been recorded in 2021, up to the end of April. Some 19,000 migrants have been reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean in the past six years. There has been a marked increase in the ratio of deaths to attempted crossings. The Minister of State is familiar with these figures but chooses not to use them. The Taoiseach chooses not to use them either. We are building up fortress Europe and an "us and them" mentality. That is the greatest threat to democracy.

The Minister of State will be more than familiar with the Frontex agency. I understand it is being investigated by the European Anti-Fraud Office, among other investigations. It is the agency the European Union has tasked with looking after our borders. It is working in collusion with the Libyan Government so that people are sent back to Libya. We have a terrible agreement with Turkey.

I have the greatest of respect for the Minister of State and I accept his bona fides on foreign affairs but surely in the midst of this hymn of praise to Europe, 71 years after the Schuman Declaration, we should have the confidence to ask if we have grown in wisdom. Has the European project grown in wisdom such that we realise when we distinguish between "them" and "us" that we are going to lose? The European project has failed to look at getting rid of intellectual property rights in the face of a pandemic. One year after the pandemic began, it has made no progress in that regard. In that way, we reinforce the "them" and "us" mentality that turns the Mediterranean into a coffin, a place in which people have died. If we are proud Europeans, surely that is what we should be looking at today. Surely we can be leaders in the world and show people that what is so important about Europe is that we are open and inclusive, and will actively work with others. When wrong is done, as is the case in Israel, we need to show that we, as a small country, have the courage to say we will not tolerate it in our name, nor will we allow Europe to do so.

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