Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have two and a half minutes to scrutinise this motion. The peaceful delivery of words of war is absolutely shocking to me, and that is what is happening here. The Minister of State has delivered a big print speech of ten and a half pages with great gusto and confidence. In that he insults us on page five, when he states, "The House will be aware further the 2009 Act that Dáil approval is required," and, "This statutory requirement ensures complete transparency and proper parliamentary scrutiny and oversight." Does he think we are complete idiots? This has been allocated 55 minutes. He took ten of that, which leaves 45. I have two and a half minutes as we sign up for more warmongering. Earlier in his speech, he told us about how the EDA was formed. What he neglected to tell us was how the arms industry led the politicians by the nose as it was set up in 2004. The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, now Airbus, along with the French started lobbying and so on. I cannot go into more details as I will run out of time.

Ursula von der Leyen tells us this collaborative procurement will bring us closer to a European defence union. Mr. Borrell, that man who told us Europe was a garden and everything outside of it a jungle, tells us it sends a clear message. I apologise, the website of the EDA tells us this, but he has endorsed it. It states that it sends a clear message to industry. That is what we are doing here. It sends "a clear message to industry, that aggregate orders will be placed together through the European Defence Agency. Large orders provide industry with certainty." Can you imagine that? It allows "them to ramp-up production and produce" faster and faster - more arms, more war and more slaughter. We stand here and say we stand in solidarity with Ukraine, while we watch Palestinians being slaughtered as we do not use our voices. The Minister of State has ten pages of a speech to connive, cheat and hide the purposes of what we are doing, which is to join the warmongers of Europe. We are failing to learn from history. He is failing to listen to us. I will have absolutely no part of it, as a woman, as a mother and as an independent Deputy. I will not be part of this horror show.

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