Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ceann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach, President Metsola, distinguished Members of the Dáil and Seanad, Irish MEPs and former Members of the Oireachtas, thar mo cheann féin agus thar ceann mo chomh-Theachtaí, cuirim fáilte ó chroí romhaibh. Ina cáil mar Uachtarán Pharlaimint na hEorpa, is ionadaí chroí daonlathach an Aontais Eorpaigh í. Merħba. Grazzi ħafna.

Ireland is marking 50 years of membership of the European Union this year. It has transformed our country and been a powerful engine for economic and social progress. Today, Ireland is a modern, prosperous and progressive country not only as a result of our own efforts, but because of the immense benefits we gained by joining the European Union. It gave us access to EU markets, to funding that helped us to develop our infrastructure and regions and to an agricultural policy through which we became a major food supplier to the world and which helped to sustain our thriving rural communities. Membership of the European Union has amplified our voice in the world. Today, the European Union is a significant global actor with regard to trade, foreign policy and development. It is also a vocal advocate for climate action. We engage with the world on the basis of our shared values, freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as on the basis of our shared interests.

One of the most significant achievements of the European Union is the European Single Market, which is marking its 30th anniversary. It gave a great economic boost to the Republic of Ireland, unlocking our prosperity, but also removed border checks and restrictions on trade between North and South. Today, it is easy to take for granted the ability to trade, travel, work and study across the European Union without any barriers. You cannot see what is there any more. However, we need only look to the consequences of Brexit and its effects on the UK's young people to be reminded of how complicated life would be for our citizens and businesses were it not for the four freedoms of the European Single Market.

The European Union also provided a space in which peace on this island could be nurtured. It helped remove physical and mental barriers. Differences between North and South, and also between Britain and Ireland, melted away due to EU harmonisation. British and Irish politicians met as equals around the European table and we could more easily see how well aligned, rather than divided, we were on a great many matters, that we had a great deal in common and that there was more uniting us than dividing us. The European Parliament was a place where John Hume and Ian Paisley found common ground. I remember John Hume, that great European, saying how he was inspired by Strasbourg, where the European Parliament sits, in the Alsace region, which has switched between France and Germany throughout history. He asked why, if French and German people who spoke different languages and hurled them at each other through centuries of war could come together through common institutions, the two communities in Northern Ireland, who spoke the same language, could not do the same. The role of the European Parliament continues to this very day through the €1 billion PEACEPLUS programme, which we hope to finalise shortly. This will play a vital role in fostering peace and reconciliation in Ireland, particularly in the Border region. The fact that the President of the Parliament comes from the European Union's smallest member state and a fellow island state is deeply significant for us because we are a union of equals in which the voice of small states really does count.

We meet at a time when peace is absent from our Continent. It has been almost a year since Russia launched its brutal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. We are proud to be part of a European Union that stands resolutely with the people of Ukraine. We will stand with them for as long as it takes. We pay tribute to the President's personal leadership and resolve. She was one of the first political leaders to visit Kyiv in an unambiguous demonstration of our commitment to Ukraine and an encouragement to that country on its European path. The European Union is built on strong foundations of shared values and a common purpose. It is rooted in freedom, democracy, the rule of law and a desire for peace. It continues to offer the hope of a better future to millions of fellow Europeans, from Ukraine to Moldova to the western Balkans, many of whom dream of joining the European Union. We should help to make that dream a reality.

As the President mentioned earlier, this week we celebrate St. Brigid's Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde, or Imbolc, the Celtic new year, which ushers in a new season of light, hope and growth. It reminds me of her inaugural speech to the European Parliament when she was elected President, in which she committed to standing up for the politics of hope and the promise of the European Union. We will always stand by her in that. Once again, the President is most welcome to Ireland. I thank her for addressing these Houses. Fáilte agus go raibh míle maith agat.

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