Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am pleased to address the House today ahead of the spring European Council, which takes place on 19 and 20 March. The discussions at this meeting will focus on three key issues: energy union, the 2015 European semester, and external relations, to include Russia, Ukraine, the forthcoming Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, and Libya.

As Members are aware, EU Heads of State and Government also had an informal meeting on 12 February. In the early hours of that same day, a package of measures to halt the fighting in eastern Ukraine had been agreed in Minsk. This news was warmly welcomed. More than one month on, our priority will be to assess the extent to which this second Minsk agreement has been implemented on the ground.

Counter-terrorism was also discussed in February. A joint statement, issued by Heads of State and Government after the meeting, committed to the safeguarding of our common values and reinforcement of action against terrorist threats.

Finally, we had some reflection on how economic and monetary union has developed and on how it might be strengthened further, with Commission President Juncker presenting an analytical note on the issue.

A further discussion at senior official level is taking place in Brussels this evening.

Looking ahead to next week’s meeting, the question of how to advance energy union will be a key focus of discussion. Energy union, with a forward-looking climate policy, is one of the five strands of the strategic agenda for the Union as agreed by Heads of State and Government last June. The ambition of realising a meaningful energy union has never been more relevant. Geopolitical events in the Union’s neighbourhood, global energy competition and the realities of climate change all provide significant impetus for forging a much deeper level of co-operation between member states on energy issues.

Discussion at the European Council will be informed by a communication recently published by the Commission on a framework strategy for a resilient energy union with a forward-looking climate change policy. This important strategy has five dimensions: energy security, a fully integrated European energy market, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and research and innovation. The different dimensions are all mutually reinforcing and closely interrelated.

What does energy union mean for Ireland? As a peripheral and, in energy terms, poorly connected member state, Ireland stands to benefit significantly from efforts to enhance Europe’s energy security. Our current relatively high dependence on oil and gas leaves us vulnerable to price and supply shocks. Therefore, EU policies on security of supply, resilience, global energy markets and diversification align well with the emerging themes in Ireland's revised energy policy framework.

Development of adequate infrastructure to promote diversification of energy routes and sources is essential for Ireland and other peripheral member states. Access to financing for this infrastructure, including from the Connecting Europe Facility and the European fund for strategic investments, will be necessary if the full ambition of energy union is to be realised and its benefits shared across all member states.

Ireland also very much welcomes the European Union's ambition to become the world leader in renewable energy. This is important not only with regard to improving climate efficiency and increasing our security of supply but also in terms of economic impact. Across the EU, renewable energy businesses employ more than 1 million people and have a combined annual turnover in excess of €120 billion. In Ireland, we intend to play our part in realising the EU's ambition of becoming the number one player in renewable energy technologies. Our offshore renewable energy resources, such as wave energy, are among the best in the world, and our researchers and entrepreneurs are at the cutting edge of developments in this sector.

Completion of the internal energy market is key to realising energy union and is likely to be an important focus of discussion next week. Improved energy flow across borders, supported by an effective regulatory framework and greater marketplace competition, stands to deliver real benefits for Europe’s consumers, ensuring affordable prices at household level while also supporting the competitiveness of European businesses. Ireland strongly supports the early completion of the internal energy market. However, we must also be careful to ensure the necessary safeguards and flexibilities are in place for small member states and that there is sufficient regulatory stability and policy clarity to encourage major infrastructural investments by the private sector.

At the end of this year, the critical United Nations climate conference will take place in Paris. The European Union has already clearly articulated its targets through the new EU climate and energy policy framework agreed by the European Council last October. I welcome the further agreement at last week's Environment Council on the EU's intended nationally determined contribution, INDC. The INDC is essentially the EU's pledge for the UN process of preparing for the Paris conference. It sets out the steps the EU will take in reducing harmful emissions, as well as addressing other issues such as how it will adapt to climate change impacts. Crucially for Ireland, the INDC includes within the EU's targets the important area of agriculture and land use and land use change and forestry, as agreed at the October European Council. Agreeing the EU's pledge so early in the process has sent a strong signal of our intention to lead by example in the global negotiations.

In the months ahead, it will be important to scale up and build alliances with partners outside the European Union with a view to achieving a legally binding global agreement on climate change in December. The President of the Council, Mr. Tusk, has proposed that the European Council discuss how best to co-ordinate diplomatic outreach and action to maximise the Union’s leverage in the run-up to the Paris conference.

The March European Council will conclude the first phase of European Semester 2015, the Union’s annual cycle of economic policy co-ordination. It will specifically provide guidance to member states for submission in April of their stability programme updates under the Stability and Growth Pact and national reform programmes under the Europe 2020 Strategy. This agenda item will also provide for a broader discussion of economic developments in the Union.

There is now welcome evidence that the EU is finally emerging from protracted recession. This is the first year since the onset of the crisis in which all member state economies are expected to record economic growth. The Commission’s latest forecasts are for GDP growth this year of 1.3% for the euro area and 1.7% for the European Union as a whole. We can expect that lower oil prices, the expanded asset purchase programme recently announced by the European Central Bank and the depreciation of the euro will all contribute positively to what is still a fragile recovery. Importantly, there are signals that the more positive economic outlook is beginning to feed through to Europe's labour markets. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the euro area was 11.2% in January, the lowest rate since April 2012, and 9.8% in the Union as a whole.

A more positive economic forecast for the euro area is welcome news for Ireland, because prolonged weakness in the euro area is a key risk to our recovery. Ireland's recovery, while still incomplete, remains firmly on course. The Commission's 4.8% estimate for Irish GDP growth last year is the highest in Europe.

I expect that the European Council will give strong political reinforcement to the key pillars of European Semester 2015, as set out in the Commission's annual growth survey, namely, boosting investment, a renewed commitment to both national and EU level structural reforms, and continued fiscal responsibility.

The speed with which work is progressing on the establishment of the European fund for strategic investments, EFSI, is evidence of the high political priority being afforded to the investment agenda, not only by the Commission but also by member states. I welcome yesterday's statement by finance Ministers on the Council's position on the EFSI, and negotiations with the Parliament should now begin swiftly. The EFSI, through mobilising extra private sector funding, can be expected to directly support and underpin a range of EU strategic priorities, including the infrastructural investments which are crucial to realising energy union. The Government is studying very carefully whether EFSI lending might complement other sources of funding for potential Irish programmes and projects.

The Commission has presented a comprehensive assessment for each member state under the 2015 cycle of the European semester. In Ireland's case, the assessment in the new country report is a broadly positive one, reflecting the strength of the economic recovery under way and highlighting that the recovery is also feeding across to the labour market. The report also points to the decline in public debt, diminishing financial sector challenges and the considerable strengthening of our external accounts, among important positive developments.

The purpose of the country reports, while recognising progress, is deliberately to identify whether further work is needed or where imbalances remain. In Ireland’s case, for example, the Commission points to the need to pay attention to unemployment, particularly long-term unemployment. Job creation, as articulated in the Action Plan for Jobs, is a major priority for the Government.

The Commission also points to the need to ensure that small and medium enterprises can access the finance they need. The Government recently put in place the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland specifically to address this challenge. Furthermore, the country report finds that progress is broadly on track in addressing the seven country-specific recommendations provided to Ireland last year.

Importantly, thanks to a streamlining of the semester process, we have a window of more than two months before draft proposals for the next round of country-specific recommendations are produced by the Commission. This window allows for stronger national level engagement with the Commission’s assessment, including by key stakeholders and national parliaments. This should encourage greater national ownership of the semester process. Yesterday, the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, had a consultation with the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on issues relating to the semester.

At this point, I do not expect the position in Greece to feature prominently on the European Council agenda, as negotiations continue to be taken forward in the Eurogroup.

Agreement last month on a four-month extension of the Greek programme was a welcome development. I understand that, as of today, technical negotiations are taking place between the institutions and the Greek authorities in Brussels.

Under the external relations heading, the European Council will consider three important foreign policy issues, in particular, relations with Russia and the situation in Ukraine, the forthcoming eastern partnership summit and Libya. The Minister of State, Deputy Murphy, will consider the latter two issues in his wrap-up remarks. This will allow me to focus on Russia and Ukraine.

The specific direction and scope of European Council discussion on EU-Russia relations and the conflict in Ukraine will depend largely on developments on the ground over the coming week. An initial priority will be to review implementation of the 12 February Minsk agreement, which was brokered thanks to the tireless diplomatic efforts of Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande. I believe that the package of measures agreed in Minsk provides the basis for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

When President Poroshenko addressed the EU Heads of State and Government at our meeting in February, he painted a disturbing picture of the human impact of this conflict, which has claimed over 6,000 lives and forced one million people from their homes. However, thankfully, after a troubled beginning, the ceasefire now appears to have taken hold. While there are some sporadic violations in certain parts of the conflict zone, the overall assessment of the OSCE monitoring mission is that the situation is relatively stable. Prisoner exchanges have taken place since the ceasefire was announced and both sides have begun withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line.

This situation is still fragile. It is crucial that the OSCE monitoring mission is given full and unhindered access to all areas of the conflict zone in order that it can be in a position to verify definitively that weapons have been withdrawn and to where they have been moved. The EU is committed to strengthening the capacity of the OSCE mission to undertake the enhanced monitoring role it has been given under the 12 February agreement.

The question of sanctions against Russia is likely to feature in European Council discussions. President Tusk and his team have engaged in intensive consultations with all member states in recent weeks. Following a video conference with the leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the US on 3 March, he said that the leaders had underlined the close linkage between sanctions and the full implementation of the Minsk agreements, and that the EU was ready to decide on further sanctions if the agreements were further violated.

Ireland has consistently supported the dual-track approach adopted by the EU, involving political dialogue and robust, scalable sanctions. Moreover, we attach considerable importance to maintaining the unity and consistency that has characterised the EU response to the crisis to date. This is critical to its influence and effectiveness.

Depending on developments, Heads of State and Government may also consider broader aspects of the Union's important but complex relationship with Russia. This would build on a debate which took place at the Foreign Affairs Council last January. At that meeting, Ministers recognised the advantages of maintaining co-operation with Russia on important global and regional foreign policy issues like Syria, Libya and Iran. However, it was clearly stated then, and it remains the case now, that any reflection on EU relations with Russia should not be interpreted as a return to business as usual, and that any resumption of dialogue with Russia will be selective, gradual and conditional.

I look forward to hearing the comments and perspectives of Deputies. I will report back to the House after the meeting has concluded.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Tá áthas orm an deis a fháil cúpla focal a rá ar an ábhar tábhactach seo agus sin cruinniú Chomhairle na hEorpa i mí an Mhárta. Is oth liom a rá go bhfuil sé ag tarlú le déanaí nach bhfuil ráitis den chineál seo á dhéanamh roimh nó i ndiaidh cruinnithe den Chomhairle. Ní maith liom go dtarlódh a leithéid amach anseo.

This has been a time of continued turbulence in Europe. There have been highly dramatic negotiations that have gone to the heart of whether Europe can tackle the economic, social and political crises of the moment. The fact that the Dáil has been kept out of these discussions in recent times is unfortunate and, I suggest, is a consistent policy of the Government in marginalising this democratic Chamber.

This week's summit will not take any dramatic decisions but it is an important meeting none the less. The citizens of this country and of the Union as a whole are waiting on their leaders to show that they can bridge gaps and demonstrate a common resolve. The summit is due to sign off on the latest round of the fiscal oversight procedure. By terming it "the European semester" one could believe that there is a policy of making it as inaccessible as possible for people who are trying to understand what is going on. The documents to be signed-off on contain vital decisions about budgets and growth. Thankfully, there has been some flexibility shown and the rigid and damaging insistence on immediate cuts has been watered down.

Over the coming months we are due to hear more electioneering from the Government with an unprecedented abuse of the Civil Service to formulate what is to be, in effect, Fine Gael's election manifesto. This week, the Government has been engaged in its now usual and still ineffective habit of congratulating itself and claiming to have delivered economic progress. The Taoiseach's article on Monday was a classic of this type. Again, it ignored the reality of a Government which has not delivered recovery but rather delayed a recovery built on the skills of the people and made it as unfair as possible. People would have every right to be confused if they were to take the time to compare the Taoiseach's words on Monday with those of the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, yesterday, when he suddenly went from insisting that existing targets would be hit to demanding greater flexibility in October's budget. His mixed statements about the flexibility won by other countries reinforce the fact that the Government has yet to make any agreed statement about the medium-term fiscal objectives. In fact, the only formal multi-year agreement reached between the Labour Party and Fine Gael has been on the implementation of targets set by the late great Brian Lenihan.

I call on the Taoiseach to speak up at this summit in favour of ending avoidable austerity. Where countries can manage a higher debt to support increased investment they should be encouraged to do so. This is especially true of Germany, where the failure to tackle low demand has much wider implications.

The situation with Greece remains critical. There is no doubt that the Syriza movement took the easy populist line during the election. The party promised that all that was needed was to stand up to foreigners and gave the impression that there were no hard decisions to take. By acting as if it was the only Government in Europe with a mandate, it has caused understandable offence. The new habit of making public attacks on the leaders of other member states serves as divisive, damaging and, at times, insulting. Some of the worst enemies of Greece have been the country's supposed friends, who continue to use hype and empty rhetoric to present anyone who disagrees with Syriza as being heartless and cruel. The failure of the Greek Government to publish plans quickly for what it is willing to do in return for foreign support suggests that it did not undertake a fraction of the preparations for government which it claimed to have done.

Anyway, the fact remains that there needs to be a new policy towards Greece. Greece needs and deserves a credible return to growth which can create jobs and restore the social safety net. The current plans and policies will not do this. It may well be that the Greek Government is unwilling to genuinely reform anything in return for support, or that it makes demands which the democratically-elected Governments of other countries cannot support. However, there is a duty at least to be generous and to recognise that not all of Greece's debts are its own fault.

Ireland has a rather different situation. Someday the Taoiseach and his Ministers might have the honesty to acknowledge that they voted against the measures that delivered the fiscal correction which, he now maintains, saved the country. He might also acknowledge the core strengths of the economy rather than indulge in the nonsense of claiming to have delivered every job that has been created. Throughout the recession our internationally trading sectors continued to do well. Even in the worst years IDA Ireland attracted significant inward investment. These sectors have been the core of this recovery. Ireland has every right to sell itself internationally but the politically-focused message is selling us short. It promotes a short-term political message ahead of one of the long-term strengths of our most important resource, our people. It also undermines the case for full justice for Ireland on banking-related debt.

In Paris in 2012, the Taoiseach said Ireland was a special case because "Ireland was the first and only country which had a European position imposed upon it, in the sense that there wasn't the opportunity if the Government wished to do it their way by burning bondholders". For some reason he is reluctant to repeat it. Over the past few years there has been regular announcements of breakthroughs on the bank-related debt and claims of widely-inflated amounts being saved.

Ireland has received zero in concessions on the special nature of its bank related debt. In fact, it is now the Government's position that it will not seek any retrospective aid. The lengthened maturities and reduced interest rates on much of the debt were the application to Ireland of agreements negotiated by others. As for the promissory notes, those debts have simply been converted to sovereign debt. However, because the Central Bank of Ireland is now selling them to the market at a rate faster than originally announced, much of the saving on the arrangement may be lost.

Ireland's fiscal situation is better than it was but it is not strong. Our domestic economy remains weak and the Government's policy of ignoring critical problems like household debt and implementing regressive budgets has caused real damage. The Taoiseach owes it to the people to explain why he is no longer even asking for any debt relief. One of the principal funding routes for proposals to help Greece is to return to it interest on bonds held by the ECB. If this is done, then Ireland must demand equal treatment.

Developments in Ukraine over recent months will again be considered at the summit. Thankfully, the fighting has receded but it is looking likely that Russia has once again succeeded in creating conflict in a former client state and freezing ade facto partition. Fianna Fáil last week raised the issue of the murder of the Russian opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov. Whatever story the prosecutors come up with, there will be no way of covering up the fact that he and others have been systematically attacked and demonised by the Russian state. Denouncing people in the state-controlled media as traitors and fifth columnists leads directly to them being under threat. Boris Nemtsov himself pointed out how the Russian opposition has been attacked so much by the state, including in show trials, that they are now in effect dissidents.

This week President Putin admitted that he and his Government lied repeatedly during the process of occupying and then annexing Crimea. In doing this, Russia ripped up a recent international treaty whereby it guaranteed not to touch Ukraine's borders if it agreed to give up nuclear weapons. Ukraine gave up the third largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world, yet Russia has shown that it respects no treaties and no laws when it comes to asserting its right to control the destinies of other countries. How are countries to be expected to agree to valuable actions like disarmament if basic agreements can be unilaterally ripped-up?

The House should note that, since we last discussed this matter, Russia has adopted the policy of encroaching on the air and marine space of other countries. This has included neutral countries such as Ireland and we have shown ourselves to be incapable of addressing the problems those incursions present. Behaviour towards Baltic states has been actively threatening, including the kidnapping of an Estonian official. The bullying and neo-imperialist behaviour of Russia is one which we should stand united against. Ireland, as a country which has experienced a hard struggle to win independence and an imposed partition, should appreciate this more than most. The obligation to stand with Ukraine and against aggression is absolute, yet there are those who have tried to stop Russia facing any consequences. They have argued for the need to do nothing and, in effect, to legitimise Russia's actions. The fact the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy actually tabled a plan to normalise working relations with Russia without any roll-back of its partition of Ukraine is, quite frankly, outrageous. Thankfully, the leadership of President Donald Tusk and others has meant that the basic moral duty of the EU towards its threatened members and Ukraine is being upheld.

What there has not yet been a reaction to is the propaganda of the extreme right and left. If we look throughout Europe, we see that the loudest voices against sanctions and for defending Russia are those of the far right and far left. The National Front in France, UKIP in Britain, Jobbik in Hungary and every party in the former communist group in the European Parliament are united in their defence of Russia. The National Front in France has actually taken a large loan from a Kremlin-linked bank to fight regional elections this year. In Greece, there is a position where both the neo-fascist Golden Dawn party and the majority of Syriza oppose any action against Russia for annexing Crimea. At the UN, Israel refused to support a motion condemning the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia.

It is a sad fact that there are those here who have followed this collection of extremist groups in refusing to stand against Russia's behaviour. There are significant voices here who have consistently worked to ignore, play down or relativise Russian partition of Ukraine. The propaganda slanders against the Ukrainian people that they were controlled fascists were repeated here in this country. Groups which have no problem demonstrating outside any number of embassies have left Russia's embassy undisturbed. Despite mounting repression on minorities in Crimea and the outlawing of the right to protest against the annexation, still we hear nothing. The argument that Russia should have been allowed to dictate the foreign and security policies of its former imperial subjects is offensive, yet it has been said in this Chamber.

Missing from Sinn Féin's long list of statements of solidarity last weekend was one standing against this partition - so, anti-partition at home but no problem with partition abroad. In fact, they have said that the EU and US are co-responsible for Russia's action. We look forward to Sinn Féin representatives interrupting their fund-raising in the United States to repeat this absurd idea there.

The people of Ukraine freely and repeatedly said they want to live in a European democracy and we have a duty to stand with them. The Taoiseach should use this summit as an opportunity to call for a significant increase in direct aid for Ukraine, and I suggest he should make such a commitment on Ireland's behalf.

The energy issues to be discussed are closely related to the Ukraine. Russia has shown that it will use energy as a geopolitical tool. Europe must diversify supply and it must invest in reducing demand for energy. The energy union should be activated as quickly as possible. It has the potential to reduce our energy bills, which are disproportionately high and causing real hardship for people throughout this country.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt leis an Teachta Seán Crowe.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I have long ago lost confidence in the Taoiseach's ability to make any real leadership impact at European summits, either in Irish interests or in the interests of working people across the European Union. Therefore, I suppose the best I can wish him is a good and a safe trip. I notice his absence from the Chamber, which shows disregard for the Dáil and, in particular, for the Opposition.

He mentioned earlier the European semester and the EU country report for 2015. What he did not say was that this report pointed out major issues still facing our economy. This report and the previous one make very clear that, despite claims by the Government, there is no imminent return to Irish economic sovereignty. The report makes the point that growth figures are unreliable, public debt is still very high and the financial sector is not lending to the real economy. There are some positives, granted, but the overall picture is one of an economy divided by inequality.

On poverty and children, the report reveals that almost a quarter of people live in households where nobody is working, which is a point that bears repeating, or they are working for just a few hours a week. This is the highest proportion in the EU and, while the figure was high before the crisis emerged, it has doubled on the watch of this Government. We also have the highest number of children living in jobless households, a figure that has risen from 26% in 2007 to 34% in 2013. The report states: "Studies show there is a wide range of household joblessness in need of tailor-made measures going beyond labour market activation interventions." Is this not a damning indictment of the Government's approach to the unemployment situation?

The report is also critical of the very high cost of child care here, which means that only one parent can work outside the family home.

In 2013, the average child care fee was €152 per child per week, amounting to almost €16,000 a year for a two-child family. The report notes that as a percentage of wages, child care costs are higher than in any other EU state. Access to full-time child care is famously limited and the quality of services remains a problem, because backup, training and decent pay for the people in the sector remain an issue.

The data on youth employment is particularly negative and raises serious issues with regard to the type of society being built here for the future. We have one of the highest percentages of young people not in employment, education or training, and an increasing number seem to have lost hope. Despite the fact that a third of companies employ IT professionals, 42% of the Irish workforce have few or no digital skills. Last year, half of all companies, the highest rate in the EU, said they had problems trying to recruit IT workers.

The report is very critical of a range of issues, not surprisingly, in our health care system. It points to its two-tier nature, which it says is very different from the system in other European states. It notes, for example, that the private system covers the highest share of people in any EU state for supplementary health services and that spending on health care was higher than the EU average, yet life expectancy and infant mortality are no better than in the rest of the EU.

An issue we have tried to get the Government to respond to positively for some time is the fact that half of the proposed mortgage solutions in this State involve legal proceedings. I have listened to the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, and the Taoiseach trying to play down the significance of this issue. They both tried to claim that the banks are only using the legal process to force people to re-engage. That is offensive. A person in danger of losing his or her house wants to engage and save the family home. No one I know who is trying to help people to deal with their debt agrees with the Government's propaganda. They do not agree because they have seen a wave of repossessions taking place recently. The Government's policy facilitates the banks. It rejected Sinn Féin proposals on this issue. We would have ended the bank veto. That shows that the Government's priorities lie with the elites rather than with families at risk of having their homes repossessed.

The Commission also warned about the precarious situation with Irish Water and pointed to the lack of clarity about its financial future. The Commission said there were questions as to whether Irish Water would have the power to borrow on open markets. All of this reflects badly on the Government and exposes its propaganda on these matters.

The Minister, Deputy Noonan, now thinks some of the rules for dealing with the smaller states are too inflexible and that they need a break. My suspicion is that as he continues to crank up the pre-election auction politics, he fears the tax cutting plans for some may fall foul of the expenditure benchmark. It is a bit late in the day for him to try to argue that he has the interests of smaller states at heart.

On his way into Monday's Eurogroup meeting, the Minister said the Greek finance Minister would no longer head Greece's negotiations. I do not know what business it was of his, but he was wrong. It was widely reported and, quite rightly, resulted in a very strong reaction from the Greek Government. Will the Government take the opportunity to apologise to the Greek Prime Minister for that offensive remark?

I wish the Taoiseach well on his visit to the USA. Perhaps the Minister of State will extend my good wishes to him. I ask that he raise the need for immigration reform while he is there and explain to the diaspora why his Government has resiled from the commitment given, which is in keeping with the recommendations of the Constitutional Convention, that Irish citizens living outside the State be given votes in presidential elections.

Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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I had a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade this morning, and I welcome his comments about the Irish citizen Ibrahim Halawa, particularly his statement that the only successful and acceptable outcome to his case would be his release and early return to Ireland. We would all mirror those remarks, which were quite helpful. It is quite clear that unless he is released, Ibrahim Halawa will face a mass trial with no possibility of getting a fair trial or justice. I urge the Minister of State to raise this case at the European Council when external relations are being discussed and to make every head of state aware that an Irish and EU citizen has had his human rights violated and is languishing in jail without any real prospect of justice.

I note that the European Council will also discuss EU relations with Russia and the situation in Ukraine. We are extremely concerned about hostilities in the east of Ukraine which have killed and injured civilians and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. The UN says that more than 5,600 people have been killed in the conflict since April, but there are fears that the actual death toll could be much higher. Therefore, it is very welcome that the ceasefire negotiated between France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia is, by all accounts, now holding. It offers the potential for peace and a glimmer of hope to the Ukrainian people. It is a step in the right direction. However, it is only one step, and there are many outstanding issues to be resolved. The humanitarian situation and the real chance of flare-ups and the outright conflict still remain. It is important that at this sensitive time, further arming of any side is not considered. Foreign states need to remove themselves from negatively interfering in Ukraine's domestic political process to advance their own selfish interests, and support the fledgling Ukrainian peace process. Britain has recently announced that it will send military personnel to Ukraine in the coming weeks. According to David Cameron, they will be there to provide training and advice to the Ukraine military. It is believed the force will amount to around 75 soldiers. The US has already said it is planning to send a battalion of soldiers to train three Ukrainian battalions. This is not helpful, as I said to the Minister yesterday. We know from our own experience of conflict resolution that demilitarisation, rather than greater militarisation, is needed. Will the European Council discuss this? What is Ireland's position on EU countries providing direct military support for Ukraine? Let us be clear: we all condemn Russia's military involvement in support of the rebels, but direct military intervention, particularly from NATO states, is counterproductive. I say that for the benefit of the Fianna Fáil Member who has left the Chamber.

Since the last European Council meeting, a motion was unanimously passed in the Dáil and Seanad calling on the Government to recognise Palestine. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade recently visited Israel and Palestine. Surely a meeting between the Government and its EU partners is an opportune time to inform them that Ireland will officially recognise the State of Palestine, in line with the wishes of the Oireachtas and the vast majority of the people of Ireland. Can the Government outline whether it will use the opportunity to recognise the State of Palestine, or will it continue to ignore the clear demands of the Oireachtas and Irish citizens?

Yesterday, Israeli authorities demolished EU-funded shelters in occupied East Jerusalem. EU funds helped to pay for some 200 temporary buildings used as shelters in villages inhabited by Bedouin communities just outside East Jerusalem.

Israel, in its efforts to displace Bedouin communities, moved in the bulldozers. Will the Irish side raise this issue, ensure the human rights of the Bedouin are protected and seek reparations from Israel for the destruction of EU-funded shelters?

The European Council will also discuss the energy union. Sinn Féin is fully committed to the development of renewable energy, not just in Ireland but throughout Europe and the world. There needs to be a secure price for renewable energy sold from Ireland in any future project. Ireland has massive potential in renewable energy development, but developing this energy for export is only viable if it is economical. This must be a key component in any future deal on a connector between Ireland and France or Europe in general. Will the Minister of State raise Ireland's concerns, particularly with regard to fracking, during these discussions? Will the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources work with the European Commission to investigate how an integrated energy market would work and assess if and how an integrated energy market would benefit Ireland and Irish citizens?

I wish the Minister of State well at the Council meeting. Clearly, many issues must be discussed, and the Minister of State must stand up for Ireland at the meeting.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I will be sharing time with Deputies Shane Ross, Paul Murphy and Michael Fitzmaurice.

I have a quiz for the Minister of State. Which dangerous political force in the Middle East is in favour of beheading, summary execution and the indiscriminate killing of civilians? One answer is "ISIS" but the other is "Israel". That is now official. This week, the Israeli foreign Minister called for Palestinian Arabs who are not loyal to the state of Israel to be beheaded. He said: "[T]hose against us, it cannot be helped, we must lift up an axe and behead them". He went on to say that political prisoners on the Palestinian side involved with what he calls terrorism against Israel should be executed. In Israel, a person can be executed on the word of one Israeli soldier, and 99% of those prosecuted for terrorist acts against the Israeli state are convicted. We are talking about a dangerous rogue state which, in the past week or two, has done everything it can to scupper even tentative reconciliation between the West and the Iranian state.

Why does our Government and the European Union continue to buy arms from Israel and sell military components to them, conferring favoured economic status on the State of Israel? For example, why has Ireland bought €14.7 million worth of weapons from the Israel Defence Forces when its foreign Minister believes that political opponents should be beheaded? Israel has unleashed the most appalling assault on the people of Gaza three times in the last decade, with the most recent destroying 20% of the houses in the area. Such has been the destruction of the infrastructure of Gaza that new microbes and infections are developing that doctors have never seen before and that they cannot treat because antibiotics cannot deal with them. There is absolute barbarism ongoing in Gaza, yet we are doing business with those people. We would not do business with ISIS, so why are we doing it with Israel? There are people outside the gates of Parliament today calling for an end to economic trade, and particularly military trade, with Israel. I ask the Minister of State to raise the issue at the European Council.

In that context, I cannot help hitting back at the unbelievable hypocrisy of Fianna Fáil, which should get off the flipping stage. Its members spoke about people supporting warmongers and accused those of us who raise questions about Europe's role in the Ukraine as somehow being supporters of Russia. I say to Deputy Ó Fearghaíl that I was outside the Russian Embassy in 1989 when the people of Russia overthrew the Stalinist regime, supporting the revolution. I have attended protests supporting Pussy Riot and other people who have been victims of Putin's regime, and I have never seen a Fianna Fáil Minister, Deputy or flag in attendance. I am 100% on the side of Russian people who want to overthrow the oligarchic and autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin. That does not excuse European military manipulation in the Ukraine, which is stirring up conflict in the region.

The militarist intentions of Europe were further underlined by Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker's comments about a European army, which Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael argued would never come about. The President of the European Commission has now openly called for such an army, and officials have reiterated that point. I hope we will stand up against that. Let us be consistent in opposing war, rogue states, beheadings, summary executions and trade with rogue states. We must be consistent across the board.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Socialist Party)
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A very valuable lesson about the real qualities of democracy in the European Union and the economic and monetary union has been delivered in the past month's dealings between the European authorities and the Greek Government. All of the democratic values that the EU supposedly stands for were quickly forgotten when faced with a Greek Government elected on a programme of breaking with austerity. Instead, that Greek Government was met with a statement from the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, that there could be no democratic choice against the European treaties. The German finance Minister, Mr. Wolfgang Schäuble, indicated that elections change nothing and there are rules. These are rules of neoliberalism, written into law by successive European treaties, the six-pack and the two-pack. They are precisely the rules that caused the establishment parties here and across Europe to laugh at us for suggesting that they would lock in austerity policies. Now look at the position; it is just as Henry Ford said when he indicated that people could have whatever colour they wanted for their car, as long it was black. The European authorities are indicating that countries may have elections and elect any kind of government, as long as it implements austerity policies. That is not democracy.

As Deputy Boyd Barrett mentioned, we were also laughed at for saying that there was a process of militarisation across the European Union, but two days ago the most powerful politician within EU structures made an open call for an EU army. That is also a valuable lesson about the nature of the Irish Government: utterly pathetic, craven and treacherous. It is helping to deliberately, consciously and repeatedly stab the Greek Government and ordinary working people in this country in the back in order to get a pat on the back from Merkel and keep up the lie that Ireland is a good pupil of austerity. That is despite the fact that working people here share with the Greeks an unsustainable and odious debt burden, and the same interests in lifting that burden. What happened in the past month and half was a co-ordinated assault by capitalism to effectively annul the election results in Greece. The rich took their money from the banks in Greece at a tremendous and increasing rate on a daily basis, and the attack dog of European capitalism, the European Central Bank, bared its teeth. These are the same people who effectively co-ordinated a silent coup, getting rid of previous governments in Greece and Italy and replacing them with government by the banker for the banker.

The ECB threatened to bring down the Greek banking system and put a gun to its head by threatening withdrawal of emergency liquidity assistance. At the Eurogroup meetings, Merkel and her allies, including the Irish Government, demanded total retreat and humiliation from the Greek Government. The result was a deal in which very significant concessions were made by the Syriza Greek Government, including procedures with the troika, which continues but is renamed as "the institutions". There is acknowledgement of the debt and the refusal of any unilateral changes to austerity. The only significant concession was a reduction of the primary surplus requirement, which may allow the Greeks to implement a programme to ameliorate the very worst elements of the humanitarian crisis. Even that will not satisfy European capitalists, and they will return in June for more, using the same methods of blackmail and threats again and again.

There are very profound lessons in this for us in the Chamber and those across Europe who are fighting for a different sort of Europe, where the millions come before the millionaires. This EU is fundamentally undemocratic.

The rules of the economic and monetary union and of the EU are a neo-liberal straitjacket designed to enforce adherence to right-wing economic policies. Any left government must therefore be prepared to break those rules. It must prepare people for a confrontation with those rules and with the bankers and bondholders in Europe and their political representatives for whom those rules are written. A left government will have to pursue its demands for debt repudiation to the end without being scared of the threat of bringing down the banking system or being pushed out of the euro. We cannot be blackmailed. We have to say austerity has to end and stand in solidarity with those elsewhere in Europe who are doing that.

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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I am beginning to get a little bit weary of these supposed debates that we have before the Taoiseach heads off to Brussels for summits. One reason I am getting weary of them is summed up in his last sentence, “I look forward now to hearing Deputies’ comments and perspectives”. Where is the Taoiseach? Is he listening to us somewhere else? He left the Chamber the moment he finished speaking. That shows his contempt for the messages he is getting from the Opposition. He is not listening. We know that. He read a script today which singularly and deliberately avoided in any way addressing the key questions of Europe. Who wrote this script for the Taoiseach? It reads as if it was written by someone in the European Commission. There is absolutely no mention in it – I am open to correction – of any initiative that Ireland will take at this European Council meeting, of anything the Taoiseach intends to say or of any word or voice of dissent from anything the European Commission does. The Commission is mentioned in virtually every paragraph with approbation and applause and Ireland is mentioned only in the context of continually siding with, and supporting, what the Commission says. That tells us that Ireland’s voice in Europe is ignored because the Taoiseach and the Government have accepted the role of being some sort of satellite of France or Germany or whoever they choose on the day. We have become the eunuchs of Europe. We say nothing. We have no independence. We held a debate on neutrality recently which was constructive and interesting but was totally and utterly ignored.

To get some indication of how we are treated in Europe, one needs to consider the issue the Taoiseach did not address and should have addressed. Yesterday, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, in Europe, accepted and supported an extension for France for being a serial offender in breaking the debt to GDP rules. He not only did that, but he supported the same for Italy and Belgium. He is saying, “It’s okay, tie my hands behind my back but don’t do it to the big nations”. We are frightened of saying even “Boo” to the French. In a pathetic gesture, he grabbed Mr. Schäuble at the edge of one of the meetings to tell him he thought Ireland should maybe get the same treatment. It is a bit damn late to be telling Mr. Schäuble that. He says Mr. Schäuble got the message, which means he told the Minister, Deputy Noonan, to go off and have a cup of tea somewhere and come back to him in six months when he would see what he could do.

Ireland is a pathetic creature on the European stage. Ireland’s voice does not count and we see that not only in the Taoiseach’s speech, but in what happened yesterday. Our attitude to the Greek situation is symbolic of that. We should naturally be allies of the small nations.

Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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We should naturally have said we sympathise with the Greek plight. Instead we hid behind the skirts of the Germans and the French and we are doing exactly the same on Ukraine and Russia.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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Ireland is like a pet lamb following a bottle. Everything that Europe tells us to do, we go along and do it.

Shane Ross (Dublin South, Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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The large countries do what they want to do. We as a nation have given up on the pride we were always brought up with.

Why do small nations not work together and decide to stand up and be counted? In a referendum a few years ago we were told European armies would not be put together, that it could not happen. Now we learn what is being said from media reports. I have not been here long but Deputies who go on trips to other countries tell me Ukraine is a corrupt country and of other countries supported by the European project which are corrupt, but we turn a blind eye to that. We do not want to see it because that is in the best interests of this so-called European project. We joined a community in Europe. Anywhere in the world community is seen as good because it involves people working together constructively, aiming for one goal and looking out for each other.

Europe is being torn apart. We are heading for a union which will or will not work. As a nation we have given up on ourselves and our pride. We have decided that Barroso, an unelected civil servant, and other unelected people, will dictate because we are losing jobs because of the regulations introduced here.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Is the Deputy living in the Republic of Ireland?

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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We are losing jobs due to bad EU legislation being brought in. Do we want to say we are the great people of Europe but we give out social welfare because we have no jobs for people? We have to decide and say what is good and what is bad. That is the way forward, working together with people. Each Deputy who is going away for St. Patrick’s Day should be proud of our country and not bow to the bigger nations that are trying to look down on us. We are Irish and proud of it.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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We are exceptionally proud to be Irish, although one would not think so listening to some of the commentary particularly from the Independent Members, especially Deputy Ross, who quoted the Taoiseach’s statement but seems not to have read or heard it. While criticising the Taoiseach, who is launching a very important initiative in the Irish Financial Services Centre, IFSC, the Deputy has also scurried out of the Chamber. He says he is weary of what the Government has reported here before and after European Council meetings, yet despite our having the fastest growing economy and creating more jobs than any other country in the EU, he is still happy to criticise the Irish people and the job Ministers have done with the occasional support of some in the Opposition. I have rarely heard a constructive point on any issue connected with our economy from Deputy Ross who seems to be only concerned with his own platform as a journalist.

There is €25 million of assistance going to the people of Ukraine with a further €15 million pledged over the next few months. It is essential to develop a co-ordinated approach to the reconstruction of Ukraine. That depends on the continuing peace process.

The country specific recommendations we received were expected. They are in line with what we know already. It is true that the recommendations said we have too much unemployment.

We are aware of this and though unemployment is falling, it is still too high. We have moved to a point now where unemployment in Ireland is very much at the European average. We are also aware of the difficulty we have in respect of jobless households.

I wish to comment on two things which will take place next week. The first is the Eastern Partnership, which was launched in 2009 and aims to accelerate political association and deepen economic integration between the European Union and the partner countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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More expansionism.

Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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The European Council will review preparations for the upcoming summit, providing a steer on its objectives and the way forward concerning some other key issues. On Europe's neighbourhood policy and expansion in general, I was in the Dáil when we voted on the ambitions of three nations to share in democratic and free membership of the European Union. They were represented by their ambassadors on behalf of the people of their respective countries. Unfortunately, a number of Deputies voted against the motion on that occasion. The ambassadors later told us they were very frustrated that, although they were representing their democratically elected governments, their ambitions were being stifled by those Members, one of whom is present in the House today. It is very unfortunate that this took place in Dáil Éireann at that time.

The Council will revert to the issue of Libya and the broader discussion of the southern neighbourhood. Deputies will be aware that the task of building a democratic future for the people of Libya has been extremely challenging. However, elections took place in June and there is evidence people want to see a secure, stable and democratic Libya. Unfortunately, in recent months we have seen a number of factions fighting for political legitimacy and seeking control of Libya's cities and its infrastructure.

I will be attending the General Affairs Council and the Foreign Affairs Council on St. Patrick's Day next week, the day before the European Council meeting which takes place on Thursday and Friday. Tomorrow it is the Justice and Home Affairs Council. I listened to Deputy Ó Fearghaíl refer to the reputation of this Government but it is frequently reported to me, as Minister of State, that the performance of Ministers in the previous Government, who failed to attend important Council meetings, caused significant damage to our reputation. We are working very hard to undo the significant damage caused by the Fianna Fáil Party which negotiated such an appalling deal for the people. We have successfully managed to renegotiate that in many ways and we will continue to work to do that.