Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The agreement on the new Common Agricultural Policy has been met with mixed responses. The sooner the Minister for Agriculture, Food, and the Marine can provide clarity on key questions, especially for small and family farms, the better. The Minister has pushed for national flexibility and now that he has it, we need to know what he will do with it. We need to see the best outcome for a more sustainable and viable farming sector. Family farming needs to be at the heart of the policy, as for too long factory-style farming has been promoted, which sees small farms being swallowed and practices that harm the land.

Convergence has been set at 85% of the national average payment and although this is somewhat welcome, the Government should use its discretion to increase that figure. We need the Minister to outline his plans for the transitional period and to know what rate of convergence will be applied for 2022. What assurances do we have that the 25% of the direct payments budget set aside to fund new eco-schemes will be tailored to meet both the needs of small farms and address our climate and biodiversity crisis?

The Agriculture and Fisheries Council also discussed fishing. The Minister of State indicated that he raised the unilateral mackerel quota increases by Norway and the Faroe Islands, as well as Ireland’s quota loss under the Brexit deal. What are the concrete outcomes on these issues? Fishing communities and their families from across the State travelled here to the convention centre last week. What assurances can we give them as a result of this Council meeting?

The European Council committed to help boost global production of and universal access to Covid-19 vaccines. Without a waiver of the vaccine patents, however, this cannot be effectively achieved and those words ring very hollow. Along with others, I have consistently called for Ireland to champion a waiving of the intellectual property rights on the vaccine, the so called trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, TRIPS, waiver, to allow countries in the global south to produce their own supply. The profits of corporations are being put ahead of the health of millions of people. The pharmaceutical company monopolies could leave countries in the global south waiting until 2023 for widespread vaccination. Not only is this morally reprehensible, it also leaves us open to new variants, such as the Delta variant, which is already having a massive impact here.

If the Government is not motivated by human rights, can it at least act in self-interest? To date, the Government’s actions on this have been disgracefully inadequate. The latest response is that we are working with the European Commission and other EU member states on the EU position on the TRIPS waiver. In the middle of a pandemic, with a solution staring us in the face, we are working on a position when lives are being lost. We must use our voice in the EU to support the TRIPS waiver by temporarily suspending intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organization for Covid-19 vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.

The people's vaccine alliance, representing a range of different groups from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and Trócaire, highlights the Irish people's desire for vaccine justice. Scientifically and morally, the argument is incredibly clear, namely, that most effective way to end this pandemic is to ensure that everybody everywhere has access to vaccines. The temporary waiving of patents will enable a sustainable increase in the manufacturing and distribution of vaccines. This is the solution. What is the Government doing to make it happen?

I welcome the European Council’s discussion of LGBTQI non-discrimination as a fundamental value of the EU. This rhetoric must, however, be supported with action. Hungary’s law prohibits sharing content on homosexuality to people under the age of 18 in sex education, media, or ads. Disgracefully, these restrictions were brought in under legislation relating to child abuse. Poland’s education minister has already said that Poland should copy the Hungarian law. While our celebration of Pride is wonderful, we must not forget that solidarity is central to Pride. It is about the discrimination, oppression, and violence inflicted on LGBTQ+ communities across the globe. The Government has rightly called on the European Commission to take Hungary to court for violating EU norms. What assurances can the Minister of State give us that these issues will continue to be pursued?

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