Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I take this opportunity to congratulate those who were successful in the Assembly elections in Northern Ireland and commiserate with those who lost their seats, including the two Green Party MLAs who served the Assembly very well in the years they were there. I am sure they will come back again. I thank Deputy Cronin of Sinn Féin for her generous comments a few minutes ago.

Today we mark Europe Day which celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The 20th century was a century of hostile conflicts but also a century of pursuing peace. In 1920 the League of Nations was established to promote international co-operation and to achieve peace and security in the wake of the First World War which had left Europe in ruins. It unfortunately failed for many reasons. Among those reasons were that multilateralism was a new idea and that the great powers ignored the League of Nations in their efforts to appease the emerging dictator.

What followed was the deadliest military conflict in history. The Second World War caused unimaginable suffering and destruction. At the end of it, vast areas of Europe had been obliterated. In less than a decade approximately 80 million people were killed. Afterwards, the borders were redrawn, efforts were made to permanently dismantle the war-making abilities of the aggressors and peace agreements were signed. The most important of those peace agreements was that establishing the United Nations which, like its predecessor the League of Nations, was created with the aim of preventing future wars. However, with the United Nations only in its infancy and with the growing tensions between western powers and the eastern bloc, the result was the Cold War and the spectre of an unimaginable third world war still loomed real.

The destruction seen in the First and Second World Wars was a catalyst for ideas of strong European co-operation that went beyond the policy of balance of power. Yesterday marked the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration, which set out the idea for a new form of political and economic co-operation in Europe. The declaration was a proposal to place French and West German production of coal and steel under a single authority with the purpose of making war between historic rivals France and Germany "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible". We may be moving away from coal but the ownership and control of natural resources still defines the geopolitics of Europe and the world. We should ask ourselves what peace means. Peace is not just the opposite of or the absence of war. It is actually much more than that. Peace is stability, opportunity and diversity. It is the opportunity for adventure and meeting people and for a long, enjoyable and healthy life.

Yesterday I met with students in Castletroy College in my constituency and I was greeted by Mr. Flanagan, principal, and Ms Gunnigle, politics and society teacher. We were accompanied by Ms Barkan-Cowdy of the French Embassy. We learned how the European Commission works and how it interacts with the European Parliament. It was a very worthwhile session and I commend Ms Barkan-Cowdy on coming to Limerick and the staff of Castletroy College on a very interesting session. There is an opportunity for those young people now to work overseas throughout Europe. There is an opportunity for them to work in Brussels and to continue this peace machine; the great effort at peace that has been the European Union of the past 50 years.

We have always been good participants in the European project. As Deputy Calleary mentioned earlier, we send our best and brightest to Brussels. Both Brexit and the climate crisis require us to reinforce that connection and to redouble our efforts at building it. The Green Party was not part of that referendum 50 years ago because it was not founded for another seven years. The party was born in Germany on the day that I was born. The Irish Green Party, an Comhaontas Glas, was founded the following year.

At the outset the Green Party established itself as a pan-European party. Perhaps more than any other, we believe in co-operation throughout Europe. We believe we cannot solve the great environmental challenges without this level of co-operation.

In this House, we are perhaps the party that embraces Europe more than any other. We have a strong network across every member state and we have an ongoing dialogue with our colleagues in every country of the Union and outside it. For us, nationalism is a vestige of a darker past, and, unlike others, it is a label we do not attach to ourselves. We have no greater right to a safe and healthy life and a clean environment by virtue of where we are born. As a party, unlike others, we do not have a Eurosceptic past and we are proud of that. We believe in the European project and always have.

I have spoken many times here about Ireland's opportunity in renewable electricity generation. I am happy that my colleagues across the House are on board and are demanding that it be realised as soon as possible. It is an opportunity that would not exist except for our connection with Europe. We will provide clean energy to our neighbours and enlist the help of our neighbours to exploit this resource. Our connection with Europe will strengthen because of this mutual interdependence and necessary co-operation. Together, we will help to quit our dependence on fossil fuels from the east and we will build a lasting peace.

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