Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate in advance of the EU summit tomorrow and Friday.

It is good to see the return of country reports and country-specific recommendations this year. These are key aspects of the European semester process and help to drive progress on structural reforms. Let me take this opportunity to thank the European Commission for its useful analysis in the country report for Ireland. It is undoubtedly an important input into our national dialogue.

These will direct how we build a robust and future-proofed economy that will secure long-term prosperity. In this context, it is really important that we discuss with our European counterparts how we approach the impact of rising inflation, energy prices and interest rates on our citizens.

As the House will be acutely aware, the international economic outlook is serious. The uneven receding of the pandemic around the world led to the emergence of inflationary pressures, which have been significantly exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The economic impacts are significant, including a sharp rise in energy and commodity prices. The most recent figures show that euro area annual inflation was 8.1% and 8.8% across the EU. The European Central Bank has indicated that interest rates will continue to rise. While we do not know how matters will unfold in the global economy over the period ahead, clear risks are already apparent within the eurozone and across other developed economies. It is, therefore, appropriately on the agenda that we focus on the indirect consequences of the conflict in Ukraine. Three crises are running hand-in-hand - the cost-of-living crisis, the energy crisis and the food crisis superimposed on that.

Figures from EUROSTAT confirm that Ireland is the most expensive country in Europe. Prices are 40% above the EU average. Part of that is down to the electricity prices we are paying, which are among the highest in Europe. A unit of electricity here costs 26% more than the EU average and the electricity companies are making significant bumper profits. In other countries in Europe, governments have been forced to bring in windfall taxes on these super profits. We should do the same. The 50% tax on these mega profits would bring in €300 million, which could be used to rapidly roll out attic insulation and retrofitting to help people cut energy usage and energy bills, particularly given that Louth County Council has stopped taking applications for housing adaptation grants due to running out of funding. It has made a request to the Government for €570,000. This is also important in the context of the nursing home crisis as housing adaptation grants could facilitate people to leave step-down hospitals or hospital beds.

Discussions on how to strengthen economic security and resilience are likely aiming to strengthen the competitiveness of EU industry and to promote a more sustainable, resilient and digitalised economy that creates jobs. With that in mind, I want to raise the issue of the substantial need to find different sources of fossil fuels outside of Russia. The need to reform our EU energy markets has never been clearer given how gas pricing works and the impact that is having on electricity prices all across the EU. This situation is also throwing into stark focus the need for us as a country and as Union to move away from a reliance on petro-states. We need to accelerate the use of renewables, especially solar panels, to diversify our energy sources. Significant progress has been made in phasing out EU dependence on Russian fossil fuels and there is a renewed focus, including through Europe's REPowerEU plan, on investment, innovation, interconnection, efficiency and renewables. The REPowerEU plan highlighted how to fast-forward the transition to renewables, including reducing energy usage, producing clean energy, reducing delays in permit processes for clean energy and diversifying our energy supplies. However, despite the submission of a parliamentary question in March by Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asking the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications about the progress made towards the target of reducing demand for fossil gas by 15% as part of the RePowerEU plan and the reason the reduction in demand for fossil gas in the State was the smallest in the EU only reducing demand by 0.3% compared with the EU average of 19%, he is still awaiting a reply. We need answers to these questions in the upcoming meeting with our European counterparts.

The aim is for EU industry to become an accelerator and enabler of change, innovation and growth. Strategic autonomy is about reducing the EU’s dependence on others, for example, for critical materials and technologies, food, infrastructure and security.

In terms of the global food crisis, we know that Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine has aggravated the global food crisis. A major priority for EU countries in addressing growing food insecurity is to provide emergency relief to those most in need worldwide. The people of Europe and, indeed, Ireland are experiencing unprecedented prices at the supermarket and food security will again be key as we work our way through 2023. I hope there can be a more expansive view on the Black Sea grain initiative because at previous European Council meetings, it was a subheading in a larger debate. It needs to have more prominence.

On the home front, the country is very proud of the role it has played in taking in so many Ukrainian refugees. Leaders will receive an update on migration at the upcoming meeting where is it likely to be highlighted that irregular and forced migration continues to pose significant challenges. Recent tragic events in the Mediterranean Sea highlight once again the need to deal with migration in a comprehensive and holistic manner. A total of 78 people died and hundreds more are feared missing in the deadliest refugee shipwreck off Greece. Speculation is rife that as many as 600 people were on board. Ireland is committed to continuing to work with our EU partners to ensure that humanitarian and legal obligations continue to be met. The European Council also called for work to continue on the legislative files in the European Union's proposed pact on asylum and migration. There are more than 2,700 Ukrainian refugees in Louth and Meath since start of the war. They are very welcome.

In a polarised world, with emerging great power rivalries, global hunger and the need for humanity to meet the threat of climate change, the EU has an enormous moral, political and strategic role and responsibility to act as a catalyst for human rights and justice. I look forward to the backbrief from the Taoiseach next week.

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