Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As we know, there has been political instability in Westminster for many weeks now. It has delayed negotiations between the UK and the EU on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol. As a result, there has been no progress regarding efforts to put a functioning Executive in place in Stormont. Thankfully, it seems the appointment of Rishi Sunak as British Prime Minister has brought this instability to an end, a point put eloquently by Matt Hancock in the jungle on "I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!" A change of British Prime Minister on this occasion has indeed been a genuine chance to reset the relationship between Dublin and London. That certainly seems to be the case.

The attendance of the British Prime Minister at the recent meeting of the British-Irish Council was significant and sent out all the right signals as regards future relationships on these islands. Thankfully, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris MP, has listened to all parties and has extended the deadline for the calling of fresh elections to the Stormont Assembly. This effectively puts off a possible election until 13 April next at the latest. All sides now seem to be agreed that there should be a negotiated settlement to the protocol issue and that genuine concerns need to be addressed. The main issues now seem to be checks on goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland and the role of the European Court of Justice. We must inject a new determination to resolve these problems, to compromise where it is needed and to get these technical negotiations finalised as soon as possible.

I also draw attention to the dire situation unfolding in the Horn of Africa and, in particular, Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan. Those countries are already prone to ongoing conflict. The region is now experiencing a five-season drought caused by climate change, resulting in acute food insecurity and malnutrition, and the associated spread of diseases such as pneumonia, measles and cholera. The war in Ukraine is also taking its toll given that the global supply of grain and fertiliser has been curtailed, which is especially impacting the Horn of Africa. Some 90% of wheat supplies in the Horn of Africa come from Russia and Ukraine. Global increases in the commodity prices of food and energy are making things even worse. In excess of 36 million people are experiencing severe drought in southern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and Somalia. It is estimated this translates into severe food insecurity and malnutrition for more than 20 million people in the area. In southern Sudan, in excess of 8 million people are experiencing serious food insecurity. The risk of famine is acute. Millions are fleeing these areas in search of food and water, thus increasing ongoing conflicts even further. Many parts of the region experienced famine conditions in 2010 and 2011, at which time the global community said this could not be allowed to happen again.

It is happening again and it appears to many that the world is turning a blind eye to the unfolding catastrophe. How should Ireland and the global community respond to this humanitarian disaster? For a start, Ireland must be to the forefront in highlighting this disaster both in the EU and at the UN, including at the UN Security Council. We should emphasise in particular the role played by climate change. In addition, humanitarian aid should be increased substantially by donor organisations in these countries. Our own overseas development aid, ODA, budget now totals €1.2 billion, the highest on record and we must also continue to increase our funding package for this region both to Irish NGOs and to international aid organisations. Last month Dóchas, Trócaire and Concern made a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence on the situation in the Horn of Africa. Their reports from the region were shocking. These NGOs have since outlined a programme of action to tackle these problems, action for the short term and action for the longer term. I hope the Government can respond positively to this proposed action plan.

The European Council continues to express strong solidarity with Ukraine. This week, Russia again bombarded several cities and power plants with missile strikes thus endangering the civilian population. Recent events in Kherson gave us all a little hope that Ukraine can successfully fight back. The retreat of Russian forces eastwards across the Dnipro river and the raising of the Ukrainian flag on government buildings in the previously annexed Kherson have given everybody a great morale boost. I hope that this setback will lead ordinary Russians to start to question the wisdom of the so-called special military exercise and Putin's regime generally.

As winter arrives, Europe must continue to stand resolutely with Ukraine. An eighth round of sanctions has been agreed and these need to be rigorously enforced. Further effective sanctions should be considered as the need arises. I understand the establishment of a military assistance mission for Ukraine was further considered by EU defence ministers this week. Ireland is committed to participating in this mission. Our expertise in de-mining and on improvised explosive devices has been talked about. The Minister should keep the House fully informed of developments in this regard. Ireland has supported Ukraine in other ways. We have given €20 million in humanitarian aid, as well as a €66 million commitment for the European peace facility. We have also given a commitment of €3 million to the International Criminal Court, which is establishing a case that war crimes have been committed by Russia in Ukraine.

As we know, last Friday the Supreme Court issued its judgment to the effect that the proposed method to ratify the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement, CETA, between EU and Canada was unconstitutional. In short it ruled that CETA cannot be approved by the Dáil under Article 29.5.2° of the Constitution. The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs considered this agreement in detail. My view was that Ireland had nothing to fear from the investor court system. There seemed to be much scaremongering in this regard, including exaggerated claims concerning the so-called "chill effect". I also believe it would not be practicable to renegotiate this agreement, involving as it would the European Commission and Canada as well as all 27 EU member states in respect of their ratification procedures.

Free trade is good for this country as a small open economy. The judgment indicates that a referendum on the agreement is not a legal requirement for ratification. In these circumstances I do not believe we should have one. It seems to me that a way forward is to change arbitration legislation in order that the High Court has powers to decline to give effect to decisions of the CETA tribunal where they are seen to compromise the constitutional identity of State or obligations to legislate for EU law.

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