Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We have had some interesting contributions, but to be honest, at some points this debate has been a fact-free zone. I refer to Deputy Michael Collins and funding for piers in Cork this year from the European Brexit adjustment fund. He came in and made a point that a pier was not funded, when only a few weeks ago the most money ever was given to piers in Ireland, including Cork and his constituency, from the Brexit adjustment fund. It is a major victory for the Government, the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and our membership of the European Union and it shows solidarity. I do not know whether the Deputy deliberately came in to complain or refuses to acknowledge that 14 out of 15 projects in Cork, as I understand it, were approved, including millions for Kinsale in his constituency, all the way down to Glengarriff and many other piers in between. There has been huge funding from Europe.

We have had a lot of talk about the European Union's alleged militarisation. The European Union budget for defence is probably around the same as what we spend on defence in the country. The European Union does not pay soldiers or send people into battle. When we talk about the military-industrial complex, I do not deny that can or does exist, but it exists within member states of the European Union. Quite frankly, if the European Union was in charge of it, we would spend a lot less money and would be far more subject to the human rights considerations that Deputies Connolly and Andrews spoke about. That is the reality. That is not where we are going. We are not involved in common defence. We cannot do that under our Constitution and it is not going to happen.

I cannot understand the criticism of Frontex. We are not part of it. Is Deputy Connolly proposing that we abolish our border control and do not have passport control at Dublin Airport? Is she suggesting that countries cannot have border control and decide to do it together through Frontex? There is no conspiracy theory; it is exactly the same as passport control at Dublin Airport. Let us have a bit of honesty about this instead of coming in here with all of the conspiracy theories.

I am delighted to see the Opposition now suddenly in favour of the European Union. We have had at least eight or nine referendums on European Union membership. Sinn Féin is always against them. In fact, when we first joined the European Union we were told by Sinn Féin that it was a sell-out. It was not a sell-out. Sinn Féin was wrong then. I am very proud of the Fianna Fáil Party. Sinn Féin denigrates our years in government, but the big decisions we made were the right decisions. We are one of only two parties which campaigned for a "Yes" vote in that referendum and I am glad we did so.

Regarding the application for funding from Next Generation EU, which Deputy Brady spoke about, we are fully on schedule with our application for funding out of that. As I have outlined, we have already drawn down Brexit funding.

Regarding the example Deputy Brady gave about Italy and Deputy Michael Collins's reference to what Spain spent on cost-of-living measures, we have spent more per capitathan those countries have. Deputies would want to start looking at their calculations before coming in and complaining about what the Government is or is not doing. The Government has done a significant amount in regard to the cost of living. We are expecting another package from the European Union in the next couple of weeks, which will set out views on how to deal with the energy market and reduce prices for consumers.

We can simplify all of these things all we like, but democracy, as I said, is complex. It is never perfect but dialogue, working together, having disagreements and getting our facts right are important.

I was happy to meet many students from County Meath yesterday for celebrations to mark Europe Day. I am relieved that when they study civil, social and political education, CSPE, and history in school, they are getting accurate information from their teachers that will allow them to challenge much of the misinformation in respect of the European Union that wafts through social media and parliaments right across the European Union. At a time when cynicism - we have seen it in the Dáil today - can often penetrate the consciousness of society, a panacea for this cynicism is the passion and enthusiasm that so many young people from across the country showed towards the European Union yesterday, on Europe Day. In fact, it was the number one trending item on social media yesterday and for a large part of today. This year has been officially designated the European Year of Youth. Young people have never had such opportunities. Indeed, the young people of Ireland before 1972 did not have the opportunities that there are today. As we mark Europe Day and the celebrations to mark 50 years since Ireland signed the accession treaty, let us act with renewed vigour in working towards a more perfect Union that all citizens, young and old, can enjoy and benefit from.

We also need to remember that the scare stories at every referendum - that we were all going to be conscripted, that Europe was going to sell us out and that there were going to be no farmers left - have all been completely wrong. I was surprised to hear criticism from Deputy Martin Kenny, who is a very thoughtful Deputy, of the European Union's approach to rural and less-populated areas. He did make that criticism. I could not believe it when he said that because the truth is that the big debate on and criticism of the European Union in the past decades has been the amount of money it has spent on agriculture and rural development. At various points, more than 80% of the budget was spent on agriculture, and that includes the LEADER programme. Other funds were spent on the PEACE programme and continue to be spent on it. I estimate that at least €40 billion, and probably significantly more, has come into rural areas of this country through the European Union since we joined. To say that the European Union is not involved in rural or less populated areas is the opposite of the truth. In fact, Deputy McAuliffe, in criticising the EU's possible non-involvement in urban areas, made the point that the EU has been known to be heavily involved in rural and less isolated areas. These are places that, frankly, the Rural Independents represent. They really need to get with the programme on behalf of their constituents. The best interests of their constituents in rural Ireland have always been served by being part of the European Union, engaging with it and taking opportunities from it. The scaremongering to which I referred has always been wrong and disproven.

The European Union has been the greatest vehicle for peace in the history of the world. It has no interest in war. It is always trying to prevent wars. It tries to make peace - to force peace - and to uphold democracy and the right of Deputies such as Deputy Connolly to criticise. She would not be able to do so in many countries outside the European Union. Indeed, that right has been threatened within the European Union. We must protect and value these freedoms. We must engage in the debate but not scaremonger. We must not throw around fake news, as regularly happens across this Continent in respect of the European Union, but recognise it for what it is.

The European Union is a complex democracy. Laws are passed by elected MEPs and elected governments on behalf of the people. Almost everything the European Union has been doing through many years has been in the best interests of the people of Europe. Almost all the equality legislation enacted by the Dáil originally came from European directives. It works the other way as well, however. When Ireland became the first country in the world to have a referendum to allow same-sex marriage, other countries followed us. The European street, as the President of Ireland refers to it, is not a one-way street. We have benefited from the European Union and been inspired by it, but other European countries have benefited and been inspired by our actions at various times. Nobody is perfect but the structure that in place has proven time and again to be in the best interests of the people of Europe. If we do not like the people who are in those structures, we can just vote for different people but maintain the structures.

Tá mé bródúil freisin go bhfuil an Ghaeilge mar theanga oifigiúil. Indeed, one of the Sinn Féin objections to joining the European Union was that the Irish language would be threatened. Tá an Ghaeilge ag teacht ar ais anois de bharr an Aontais Eorpaigh. Is é aiséirí na Gaeilge é. Bhí an Teachta Calleary ag iarraidh orainn go léir, mar Airí, dul go dtí an Eoraip agus an Ghaeilge a labhairt. Labhraím an Ghaeilge ag gach cruinniú de Chomhairle na nAirí sa Bhruiséil agus i Lucsamburg. Ba cheart níos mó Gaeilge a bheith againn anseo ach tá an inspioráid ann anois ón Aontas Eorpach. Tá mé bródúil as na hÉireannaigh go léir atá ag obair ansin agus atá ag labhairt na Gaeilge agus ag obair léi agus á húsáid agus á cur chun cinn agus ag athchruthú na Gaeilge don ré nua-aimseartha seo. Ar aghaidh leis an Eoraip. Tá mé lánsásta lenár mballraíocht. Tá mé lánsásta an ceiliúradh seo a dhéanamh agus ceiliúradh a dhéanamh ar dhul chun cinn eacnamaíochta, ar shíocháin agus ar dhul chun cinn sóisialta.

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