Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin Bay North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am proud to have the opportunity to contribute to this debate on behalf of the Labour Party.

Robert Schuman, a Luxembourger by birth and a German by heritage, spent his life contributing to French politics. Like many of his generation, the experience of two world wars that devastated the Continent drove his determination to forge a Europe bound by trust, respect and peace rather than hatred and division. From his initial vision, successive generations have built a European Union which, while far from perfect, has delivered for its citizens. While the founding idea to bind Europe together was driven by the experience of war, destruction and poverty the idea that has delivered most for its citizens has been the progressive ideal of a social Europe, namely a Europe that enhances rights for citizens, a Europe that is committed to economic cohesion and a Europe that is based on tolerance, respect and equality. That is the European ideal that inspires me and my party. We are determined that those values will drive the future of Europe.

The challenges for our planet and our society are global. The mé féin isolationism that dominated our politics in the past and that some in this House want us to return to is a clapped-out anachronism. The world and the Continent have changed. For concerted action on climate we need European solutions. For a humane, rights-based response to migration we need European solutions. For decent living standards and workplace rights we need European solutions. However, Europe stands at a crossroads. Across the Continent, the voices of hatred and fear are on the rise. Here in Ireland, we also have our own mini Nigel Farages and Marine Le Pens. The only way to stand up to this bigotry is to challenge it and to create an alternative, positive vision for Europe. Unfortunately, with the ballot box in one hand and the latest opinion poll in the other, too many people are only too eager to pander to the worst instincts emerging in our politics. Not only is that bad politics, but it will also not work. The challenge for all of who believe in the European Union and who have campaigned and have voted for it is to chart a positive vision for the next decade. That vision should, for instance, ensure that the EU and its financial arm, the European Investment Bank, take a leading role in affordable housing investment, that workers are provided with the skills for the digital and AI-driven economy of the future, that our natural environment is protected and our plant life and wildlife is abundant rather than endangered. We can create this future, but we have to argue, campaign and vote for it.

The European Union is not perfect. It is neither a panacea nor a bogeyman. No democratic institution is. It is a place where serious people can go to tackle issues and problems that are common to us all and bigger than any one of us. The Labour Party is campaigning for Europe not simply to hold people and institutions to account but also to make a difference. We want to contribute to addressing our common challenges, be it climate change, migration issues or workers’ rights.

Europe has aided this island enormously. Our membership of the EU broke our cycle of dependence on the UK. It is where John Hume went to lay the foundation stones of his thinking and our peace process. We have seen what Brexit has done to the politics and economy of our neighbouring island and the damage it has caused here too. We have no room for complacency. The same siren voices that made Brexit possible are beginning to be heard here. They follow from those who belittled, denigrated and lied about the European project for decades. Those who wish to bring chaos know no national boundaries.

One of the existential threats facing our Continent is the brutal, illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine. Every day, Ukrainian men and women are fighting and dying for European values of democracy and freedom. We should be clear that Putin’s war against Ukraine is one of annihilation. There was no provocation and no excuse. The proud people of Ukraine did not become “puppets of another power”, as one MEP from Dublin said. Putin’s apologists in the European Parliament and elsewhere and are lying. His murderous regime denies the right of the Ukrainian people to exist. It denies the right of the Ukrainian people to choose their own future. Putin is terrified of a free, independent Ukraine taking its rightful place among European nations. This is not some quarrel in a faraway country but an existential threat to Europe and especially our European partners in the Baltic states and Poland. This is not Russophobia.

We want to cherish the ties we have fostered that will last for generations, but we also need to be strong in the face of the genocide that is happening on our watch. We need to be strong about having solidarity with nations and solidarity with the Palestinian people. We need a European Union that calls out genocide and that has the courage to break all diplomatic, economic, sporting and cultural ties with Israel. History demands that we and the European Union do this. In 20 years’ time, the Trinity College students will be able to look their children in the eye when many EU leaders will not be able to do so. This human solidarity is key and will drive the future of the European Union. Ireland does not have an opt-out on this, nor should we. Our future is linked to a progressive, tolerant, Europe and I and my party are prepared to fight for that.

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