John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Undoubtedly, the primary issue facing the EU at this moment continues to be the Covid-19 pandemic followed by how we, both as an independent nation state and as a contributing member of the institution, are to chart the course of economic recovery from the unprecedented events that have occurred since March 2020. The impact the pandemic has wrought on our economy has been compounded by the added impact of Brexit. The geographic position that we occupy of having Britain as our nearest neighbour, the political complexities of our relationship with the British and the impact of Brexit on our export economy positions Ireland as the nation most severely impacted by Brexit. While I welcome the reports that Ireland will receive €1 billion from the EU Brexit adjustment reserve fund, it is imperative that these funds find their way to where they are most needed.

Significant issues remain to be resolved relating to access to traditional fishing waters by Irish trawlers as a consequence of the failure to safeguard the rights of Irish fishers. The impact on our coastal and fishing communities is potentially devastating.

Many of our businesses have made heroic efforts to stay afloat during the pandemic lockdown. Their ambitions have been reduced to just staying in the game. This funding must be directed towards keeping people in work and keeping businesses going. Legislation before the House concerning our maritime jurisdiction offers an opportunity to send a message on the sovereignty of our waters and to put in place the mechanisms required that will allow our nation to harness our natural resources to become a world leader in the development of offshore renewable energy.

On the issue of Covid-19, the global focus is on the vaccination programmes. The emergence of new more infectious variants of the Covid-19 virus leaves us with the inescapable conclusion that we are in a race against time to administer vaccines globally before a variant emerges that is immune to existing vaccines. The threat to global health, the economy and social cohesion concerns us all. Until all are safe, no one is truly safe.

It is welcome, therefore, that the European Parliament endorsed a resolution earlier this month calling for a temporary waiver of Covid-19 patents. The steadfast opposition of the European Commission to this measure is disappointing, even though it alluded to having different plans to accelerate the global vaccine roll-out despite the growing global consensus in favour of the policy of waiving the vaccine patents. The Government owes an explanation to the House as to why its Members in the European Parliament refused to vote in support of that resolution. I call on the Taoiseach to answer where Ireland stands following the recent expressions of support for the WTO waiver for Covid-19 vaccines by political leaders in both France and Spain in the aftermath of the adoption of the resolution and the earlier expression of support from the Biden Administration in the US.

Migration is one of the most important challenges facing the EU. Conflict, poverty, persecution and global warming have led to the displacement of millions of individuals in recent years. It is a political, moral and humanitarian issue. It is also an issue we cannot discuss without broadening the debate to include the role of Turkey and how the EU's dependence on Turkey to act as a bulwark against migrants attempting to gain access to Europe has undermined the ability of the Union to address some of the more provocative actions that Turkey has taken in recent years, particularly in the eastern Mediterranean.

Just this week, the United Nations Human Rights Council heard from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, that we are heading towards a severe cascading of human rights setbacks across the globe. The situation has been exacerbated by the human rights agenda of the EU having been compromised by its relationship with and dependency on Turkey to help resolve the issue of migration. The irony is that the continuing erosion of human rights feeds the flow of refugees. Last year, even though we were amid a global lockdown due to the pandemic, a staggering 82.4 million people were forced to flee war, violence, extreme poverty and human rights abuses. More than 500 people have already died this year in attempting to cross into Europe.

We stand on the cusp of potentially horrific humanitarian disasters in both Yemen and Ethiopia.

The head of the UN has warned that Yemen is facing into the worst famine in decades and that more than 30 million people in the Tigray region remain at risk of famine. The failure of the EU to use its influence on the global stage to address these issues while simultaneously examining its current migration policy will inevitably lead to a fresh exodus of migrants fleeing the horrors of famine and conflict.

The decision of the EU yesterday to renew sanctions against Russia for the annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, which have been in place since 2014, stands in stark contrast to the tepid response of the EU in regard to the ongoing annexation and apartheid policies of Israel. Why can the EU not extend the restrictive measures being imposed on Russia? EU imports emanating from the areas which have been annexed, along with the infrastructural or financial investments in these areas and exports from the EU for use in transport and telecommunications, gas, oil and mineral exploration, are all included, yet the Irish Government's response to the apartheid policies in Israel is to establish an IDA office there. This is unacceptable. The citizens of the West Bank and East Jerusalem are entitled to the same consideration as the citizens of eastern Europe. Ireland being the first country in Europe to formally recognise the reality of Israel's annexation of Palestinian land has given the Irish Government the imprimatur of the Dáil to use the motion on annexation and take it to the European Council. The Irish Government can use its voice within the European Union to call for Brussels to support measures to review and downgrade its economic, cultural, military and diplomatic relationships with Israel until the occupation fully ends.

Ireland can become the first EU country to ban trade with illegal Israeli settlements through the enactment of the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018. The Irish Government has been given the authority to use its voice and seat on the UN Security Council to support the efforts of the International Criminal Court to investigate potential war crimes in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It is not good enough to make statements of condemnation and to pass resolutions within this Dáil and not take meaningful action. The Taoiseach has the mandate of the Dáil to take that voice to the European Council and to urge our European partners to follow suit and take action against the apartheid policies.

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