Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The war in Ukraine is something we thought we would never see again in 21st century Europe. We thought the modern EU had brought peace to the Continent but the current position is very similar to what happened in the Second World War. Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine because we see the huge hardship and casualties being inflicted upon them. I know this country will do its utmost to help to relieve the people of Ukraine and offer them sanctuary. Each night on news bulletins we see further loss of life and devastation of infrastructure in Ukraine. In the few short minutes available to me I will explore the consequences of this war in Ukraine and the reality that it brings to us as politicians in this Parliament.

Energy and food security are something we have taken for granted, but the war in Ukraine has shown us how vulnerable our country and the EU as a whole are. Food and energy are two essential components of life and food security was a cornerstone of the Treaty of Rome in 1957. It was one of the principal reasons for establishing the European Economic Community, as it was at the time. Over the past decade, food security has slipped significantly down that agenda, and we can now see that we are vulnerable. We are dependent on food from other parts of the world, and when the supply is threatened, the entire supply chain is imperilled.

We can see the cost of raw materials doubling, tripling and quadrupling. I was told the other day that urea will be €1,500 per tonne before the spring is out. That will affect our capacity to produce food. As we stand here today, there are 800 million people in the world starving and 2 billion people on an inadequate diet. Unfortunately, before the year is out, those figures will have multiplied. We must go back to basics and ensure food security. The food must be produced sustainably and we must recognise climate change but some of the policy agendas that have been pushed over the past decade must now be reassessed. Food security must again become the cornerstone of EU agricultural policy.

Energy is in the same bracket and, again, we must recognise climate change. There is a cost for fuel in this country, however, and the changes we have been making are having a severe impact. Today, at the invitation of Deputy Mattie McGrath, we had a presentation from agricultural contractors in the audiovisual room, which showed the huge economic hardship being put on them. There is a ban on cutting peat in this country. I met representatives of the horticultural industry today and even if they can get the peat they need, the cost of importing it will break the industry. We must bring common sense policies back into play and recognise that energy and food security are the two most important issues for the citizens of both this country and the EU.

See this speech in context