Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to comment in advance of the European Council meeting in Brussels next week. It will be the final European Council meeting the Taoiseach will attend as Taoiseach and I wish him the best of luck in that regard.

I welcome a number of recent events. President von der Leyen's address to a joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas last week was very good in terms of both content and delivery. I welcome her cast-iron commitment that there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland. That has been the long-standing EU position, but it is good that it is reinforced consistently. It is great to have people of President von der Leyen's stature in Ireland's corner.

I welcome the holding of the EU-western Balkans summit in Tirana yesterday. It is a very positive step and I am surprised more meetings have not taken place because there are six quite fragmented and fragile countries of the Balkans which neighbour the EU. All we have to do is look at what happened in the mid-1990s to recognise that there is an issue and that these countries could do with the stability and influence of the European Union. I encourage the EU to at least get its house in order to ensure these countries are granted candidate status, where appropriate, as soon as possible.

The holding of the EU-ASEAN summit next week is a good thing. There are nine countries in Asia that want to establish a link with the European Union, and having a strategic partnership that takes trade and human rights into consideration is a good way to go.

What can we say about Ukraine that has not already been said? I utterly condemn what is going on there. As the Russian military is failing on the battlefield, it is now targeting civilian infrastructure, particularly that which supports life such as water and power. This is a ruthless way of doing business coming into winter. I welcome Ireland's support for Ukraine in providing €25 million recently and also the €5 million we have given to Moldova. I had the good opportunity to speak to the deputy ambassador of Moldova last night and he asked me to convey his heartfelt gratitude to the Irish people, which I am happy to do. It is good to see that Ireland is not forgetting, ignoring or neglecting other small countries in eastern Europe. This is a very positive development.

On defence and security, the Taoiseach said there are proposals to look at a common EU mechanism for purchasing military equipment. I appreciate there are differing views on this in the House but, on balance, it is good for Ireland and other small countries. This country has agreed to consider procuring a primary radar system from a passive point of view in order that we can monitor our airspace. It would be very expensive and could cost between €50 million and €80 million depending on the model chosen. There are several other big-ticket items, such as a ship to replace LÉ Eithne, which could cost up to €200 million, and possibly a transport aircraft. Through common procurement, we could get a 10% or 15% discount on the cost of these big-ticket items. As we will have to get them anyway, it makes perfect sense if we can spend the money saved elsewhere.

I very much welcome participation of the Defence Forces in the mine clearance operation. They have excellent expertise in that area and it important such expertise is put to good use. Unfortunately, there was a mine strike incident in Yemen this morning. Members may not be aware of that. Thankfully, retired Irish Army Major General, Michael Beary, was not injured in the blast when the vehicle he was in drove over a mine. The armoured land cruiser was almost completely destroyed. I am very happy to hear that neither he nor anyone else in the convoy was injured. I wish him a full and speedy recovery. It reminds us of the scourge of landmines in contaminated areas. Anything Ireland can do to help Ukraine in relation to improvised explosive devices and landmines is something we should certainly pursue.

I welcome the agenda of the European Council meeting next week and extend my best wishes to the Irish negotiating team.

See this speech in context