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

On humanitarian assistance, Ireland has done almost more than any other country. I have quoted the Deputy exactly.

I thank Deputies for their statements and it is very important that we engage in these debates before and after the European Council meeting. The agenda was discussed and this was the main item yesterday in Luxembourg where I attended the General Affairs Council of the EU affairs ministers.

The Taoiseach said that a number of external relations matters would be discussed this week. Leaders will discuss the EU’s relations with Asia, in particular, with the ten Asian countries that make up the membership of the Association of South East Asian Nations, ASEAN, and in preparation for the upcoming EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit on 14 December 2022. Ireland is a strong supporter of EU-ASEAN relations. The 45 years of partnership between the EU and ASEAN is a significant milestone. A strong relationship with ASEAN is one of the most useful ways for the EU to deepen the political and economic relationship with southeast Asia. The summit will be a key opportunity to give a strong political signal that we want to strengthen our strategic relations through concrete and practical co-operation so that the full potential of both regions can be realised. It will also be an opportunity for the EU and ASEAN to demonstrate a shared political determination to address regional and global issues of concern. The summit comes at a critical time in the current geopolitical context, with Russia’s war in Ukraine, and the ongoing conflict in Myanmar. It will be a welcome opportunity for the EU and ASEAN to clearly signal shared support for the international rules-based order. Planned outputs from the summit will include a leaders' joint statement, signing of the EU-ASEAN Comprehensive Air Transport Agreement, and the signing of the EU partnership co-operation agreements with Malaysia and Thailand, respectively.

Leaders will also have a strategic discussion on the EU’s relationship with China. China has long been recognised by the EU as a partner, a competitor and a rival. The EU co-operates with China, for example, to address important global issues such as climate change and global health issues. China is also a part of increasingly integrated global supply chains, as we saw clearly during the pandemic. At the same time, this week’s discussion takes place in the context of heightened geopolitical uncertainty, including as regards China’s stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine, credible evidence of crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, and genuine concerns about human rights in Hong Kong. This week will be an opportunity to reflect on this important relationship for the EU and how we can, collectively, use our influence to shape developments.

Leaders will also discuss the unjustifiable and unacceptable use of force by the Iranian authorities, as mentioned by Deputy Berry, against peaceful protestors, particularly targeted against women. People in Iran, as everywhere else, have the right to peacefully protest and this must be protected. On behalf of the Taoiseach, I asked at the General Affairs Council that this issue be raised at the European Council meeting and there will be conclusions on it.

The European Council will also take stock of one of the most important meetings coming up, which is COP27. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, COP27, will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt in November. This year will mark 30 years since the UNFCCC was adopted and seven years since the Paris Agreement was agreed at COP21. The four goals of the incoming Egyptian Presidency are for increased ambition in the areas of mitigation, adaptation, finance and collaboration. Ireland strongly supports the climate ambition of the EU and is committed to playing its part in achieving the target set by the EU to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030. There is an urgent need to strengthen the global response to the climate emergency in the face of increasingly intense and frequent extreme weather events, such as heat waves, wildfires and floods.

To keep our 1.5°C objective within reach, it is essential that collective efforts across the globe are strengthened. Ireland also welcomed the outcome from COP26 last year that urged developed countries to double the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation. In July this year, Ireland published its International Climate Finance Roadmap, which sets the pathway for achieving the target set by the Taoiseach at COP26 to provide at least €225 million by 2025.

Leaders will also take stock of preparations for COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place in November to agree anew a global framework that provides for the transformative change that the biodiversity crisis urgently demands. Ireland is committed to continuing to working effectively together in order that the EU and member states present a strong and coherent voice for nature and biodiversity at COP 15 to help bring about this change. This will support our role in the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and also the commitments underpinning the leaders’ pledge for nature, signed at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in 2020.

Ireland is currently developing its fourth national biodiversity action plan. This will be underpinned by the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, particularly the outcomes of the discussions at COP15.

I thank Members for their participation in the debate. Before I conclude, I want to give a flavour of the energy issues, which everybody has rightly raised. What I feel is sometimes absent from the debate in this country is any acknowledgement of the complexity of the issues that surround us. We go from one extreme, with Deputy O'Donoghue talking about direct debit mandates and paperless billing, but the issue is just far more complicated than that. I agree those are issues we have to consider. What we find is that every country has specificities. We are specific because we are on an island. The Corrib gas field was mentioned, but it provides a declining share of our gas and we have to import gas from elsewhere. As the British Government has seen recently, none of us has complete control over this. We only get results when we work together, and we must acknowledge that.

Deputy Bacik mentioned the Spanish and Portuguese solution. Yes, it is an attractive solution but it works for them because they have large volumes of renewable energy, particularly from solar energy. However, it does imply a tax on the bills to pay for it. It works for them at the moment but that is because they have a different situation from us. We are not opposed to that but other countries have shown that they have different issues and not everybody agrees with that.

We heard lots of talk about the decoupling of natural gas. I would love to do that in the morning but no Member has put forward any plan to decouple natural gas prices from electricity prices. They have simply asked for it. One way of doing that is what we have done, which is the windfall tax on renewable producers. That is a way of getting money back into the system from people who are earning too much money. The reality is that the only way to completely decouple the gas price is not to use gas, or at least reduce it dramatically, and increase our renewables. That is why we talk about increasing our renewables all of the time. It is because we want, as was said, to decouple gas prices.

The Commission put forward proposals yesterday and departments in this country and throughout the EU are examining those proposals relating the price of natural gas, which is clearly of huge concern. This will be on the agenda tomorrow evening as the leaders make their decisions. This is complex and there are different positions in every country, but we have achieved a lot already by working together. When the leaders get into that room and the meetings are well prepared by officials and experts, and even through this debate, for example, with all of the ideas flowing into it, we can achieve results. We achieved that last month with the windfall tax. We must acknowledge that the way to do this is to work together.

In fairness, if we consider the Taoiseach's contribution, the objective is clearly to reduce prices. However, what he is concerned about on this island, where we only have the small Corrib gas field, is to ensure that we have a supply of natural gas. I hear a lot of people asking for low prices, and the Government and myself want low prices, but nobody talks about making sure that we secure our gas supply in the short term, and we secure our energy and, hopefully, our renewable energy sources in the short-, medium- and longer-term.

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