Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

During the Presidency Ireland will, in effect, be in charge of the negotiations. We will have to act as an honest broker. It is important that between now and then we get our spoke out, so to speak. That is why met Commissioner Serafin at a very early point and immediately after that meeting I met all of our MEPs, all of whom were invited to be briefed on our position. I am more than happy to do that with the committees on foreign affairs, EU affairs and agriculture. Individual Ministers will also do that. It is also important for Oireachtas committees is to engage with their counterparts in other parliaments. The CAP is the biggest part of the budget in terms of what we receive. It is important that we protect that.

The other issues the Deputy mentioned are important. In terms of our major priorities, we have to work with other member states and that includes the parliaments. I foresee a big role not just for MEPs but also Members of the Dáil on all sides. By and large, the priorities will be supported across the House.

On misinformation and disinformation, I recently had very good engagement with the Hybrid CofE in Finland and encourage the foreign affairs committee to engage with its representatives on best practice in this area.

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