Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Tá an ceart ag an Teachta go bhfuil na cruinnithe a bheidh agam an tseachtain seo agus an tseachtain seo chugainn tábhachtach. Léiríonn siad an gaol láidir agus tábhachtach atá idir ár dtír agus an Bhreatain. Léiríonn siad cé chomh tábhachtach is atá an gaol idir na tíortha san Aontas Eorpach agus, gan amhras, an gaol an-láidir atá idir na Stáit Aontaithe agus ár dtír. Sa trí chás sin, tá cúrsaí eacnamaíochta ríthábhachtach. Ní aon amhras ach go mbraitheann forbairt cúrsaí geilleagair na tíre seo ar na gaolta sin idir na Stáit Aontaithe, an Bhreatain agus an tAontas Eorpach, ós rud é go bhfuilimid páirteach san Aontas Eorpach anois ó 1973 ar aghaidh.

Since I became Taoiseach I have identified a number of relationships that are key to Ireland's future and have been key to our success over the last 30 or 40 years. The Irish-United Kingdom relationship is an extremely important one. The UK is our closest neighbour and tonight we begin an annual summit that will now occur every year between the UK Government and the Irish Government. It is a relationship of family, a relationship of neighbours and a very strong economic relationship and we should not forget that, notwithstanding Brexit. Many Irish small- to medium-sized companies begin their export story in the British market. We will be seeking and working to see if we can ease the barriers that are in the way of trade between the United Kingdom and Ireland and indeed the EU more generally because economic growth in Britain will be good for Ireland and will help economic growth in Ireland. I am looking forward to that meeting along with my colleagues in government. A number of Ministers will be meeting their counterparts as part of this UK-Ireland Summit also.

The EU Council is a moment of huge importance. I am somewhat perplexed by the Deputy’s reference to Europe kickstarting an arms race. She is, I think, missing the point. Many European countries are very fearful of the threat Russia poses to their very existence. Many of these countries have history with Russia, particularly the Baltics, Poland and many others. We should not forget that or, in our complacency in this part of the world, undermine or seek to dismiss very legitimate fears these countries have about their very survival – and it is real. Europe has to be self-reliant. This is in order to ensure peace and prosperity because Europe wants peace. President von der Leyen made that clear in her opening remarks. Europe is about peace, it is about prosperity and it is about quality of life for its citizens. No one wants war but the bottom line is Europe is exposed right now and EU member states need military capability and security capability across a lot of domains including cybersecurity, maritime security, energy security and so forth.

The relationship of the United States with Ireland is older than the State itself and is an extremely important one. We are going fundamentally of course to celebrate the historical links between Ireland and the US. St. Patrick’s Day has always been the traditional day to do that, and St. Patrick’s week as well, and to be there for our diaspora.

Some 30 million people claim Irish descent.

In terms of the core issues, the economic relationship is very important. We are an open small economy.

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