Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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It is not often we have a welcome like that extended to a visitor. A Oirircis, Roberta Metsola, Uachtarán Pharlaimint na hEorpa, thar ceann Chomhaltaí an dá Theach agus thar mo cheann féin, cuirim fáilte romhat chuig an gComhshuí seo de Thithe an Oireachtais.

President of the European Parliament, Ms Roberta Metsola, on behalf of the Members of both Houses and on my own behalf I welcome you to this Joint Sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I also wish to recognise the Irish MEPs present, the members of the diplomatic corps and, of course, Ms Michelle O’Neill, MLA, who is also with us.

President Metsola, merħba kbira fil-parlament Irlandiż.

President Metsola, you are very welcome to the Irish Parliament.

We welcome you as the President of the ninth European Parliament - one of the key institutions of our European democratic structure. We salute you also as the third woman to lead that venerable institution, following the exemplary leadership roles of Simone Veil and Nicole Fontaine.

Our European Union was founded on the values of peace and democracy. These values have been sorely tested since its foundation. We are now experiencing the greatest test in our lifetimes, with the war in Ukraine. It is almost one year since Russia started this unprovoked and unjustified war. In that time, it has caused inestimable damage to the fabric of Ukraine, which can and will be repaired with global economic support, but it has also caused irreparable damage to the place of Russia in the world and to the Russian people. The European Parliament will play an important role in building and maintaining support for the restoration of Ukraine and its inevitable accession into the Union.

The Members of these Houses have had the pleasure of hearing recently from President Zelenskyy, who has become an extraordinary leader for his people, and we, as a people, have done our utmost to support the Ukrainian people and we will continue to do for many years to come.

President Metsola, Ireland has been at the centre of the Union since we signed the Treaty of Accession to join the European Economic Community in 1972 and joined the Community on 1 January 1973. You speak to us today as we are celebrating 50 years in the Union. Membership has been truly transformative for our country. We went from being a small, closed economy and somewhat inward-looking society on the western outskirts of Europe to becoming a larger, ever more open economy with an export-minded and outward-looking people at the social and democratic heart of the Union. Most of the great social changes in Ireland over the past 50 years has been driven by European legislation and values - values which we were proud to willingly embrace.

We have a saying in Irish - ní neart go cur le chéile. There is no strength without unity. We are truly stronger together.

President Metsola, I invite you now to address these Houses.

H.E. Roberta Metsola:

Thank you. Dear Chairs, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, honourable Members of the Oireachtas, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for having me here today. It is an honour to be in Dublin’s fair city, representing the European Parliament, 50 years after Ireland joined what was then still the European Economic Community.

We have come a long way together in five decades. From joining the Single Market to joining the euro, from helping to broker a peace to securing a Northern Ireland protocol. From opportunities to trade, travel and study to working to ensure social justice, respect for the rule of law, fundamental values and rights to live in dignity and safety.

These European ideals are Irish values. The EU is not some faraway entity deciding for you. It is you. Ireland is Europe and Europe is Ireland. There is no decision that is taken without you.

Dublin, Cork and Galway are the heart of Europe. When ten people lost their lives in Creeslough, we cried with you. When journalists like Veronica Guerin are killed for speaking up, we share your outrage and your determination for justice. When Ireland faced uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of Brexit, your position was our position. We went through all of that together and we will stay together.

I was told that, 50 years ago, Irish married women were not allowed to work in the public service. It would have seemed inconceivable then that a woman - least of all one born on an island in the middle of Europe’s southern sea - would stand before you here today. That is part of what Europe can do, of how it can be transformational, of how it can be the leveller we need it to be.

We have come a long way but there is some way to go yet.

Europe is not only about funds for Irish farmers, cohesion, digitalisation, recovery, infrastructure, roads or clean tech. It is about a fundamental understanding that when we do things together, it benefits us all. It is about a shared destiny, a shared future.

We have different languages, histories, cultures, traditions, beliefs and abilities but we share common values that are the foundation of everything that we do. The beauty of unity in diversity.

That great European Irishman, John Hume, once said:

Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity.

Europe is not a homogenous bloc. It does not seek to make everyone the same but it is about trying to ensure equal opportunities, about levelling up, about ending intergenerational cycles of struggle, about the quest for real peace. There are few places in Europe where that message is as important and as well understood as in this great country.

For 343 days now, Russia's brutal and illegal invasion of sovereign, independent Ukraine and the bravery of Ukrainian people have reminded us that progress and justice cannot be taken for granted. Democracy cannot be taken for granted. Europe cannot be taken for granted.

In the face of destruction, devastation and death, the Irish people continue to show solidarity in helping over 70,000 displaced Ukrainians. Irish people have a long history of showing empathy, of caring, of standing up. For that example to the world, I thank you. Maith sibh.

Since the Europe we want for the next 50 years is a Europe that cares, a Europe of real peace and a Europe of justice, we will keep standing with Ukraine in 2023, and for as long as it takes. No country can afford to go it alone. It is only together that we can bring back economic growth and find answers to the questions people ask of us as their representatives. This is also what Ukrainians are asking of us today. The European Union will continue to support Ukraine with financial aid, humanitarian aid and financial assistance, military support and practical solidarity.

I thank the Irish across the country for their continued support for the European Parliament's Generators of Hope campaign to source electrical generators that allow essential facilities in Ukraine to keep running, in hospitals, schools, shelters and more. Since this country cares, you have proved that empathy is a sign of strength, time and again.

Former US President Barack Obama said it well when he said:

Yours is a history frequently marked by the greatest of trials and the deepest of sorrow. But yours is also a history of proud and defiant endurance. Of a nation that kept alive the flame of knowledge in dark ages; that overcame occupation and outlived fallow fields; that triumphed over its Troubles – of a resilient people who beat all the odds.

He was right. The story of Ireland is one of beating the odds, struggle, sacrifice, defiance and emerging stronger – lessons that Europe will need to draw on to face the year ahead. Make no mistake, we are living in times of polycrises: war, energy scarcity, electricity prices spiking, cost-of-living increases and inflation wiping value from assets, interest rates impacting government borrowing and housing markets, scarcity of raw materials and a global food shortage one short port blockage away. This is framed in the context of our still-ongoing recovery from the pandemic, the climate emergency and living through increased economic pressure from east and west, which is impacting our competitiveness. This has meant families struggle to stretch their wages to the end of the month. It has meant increased social pressure and people in Europe having to choose between feeding their children and heating their homes. It has meant increased homelessness and hopelessness.

The challenges are clear across Europe but I know we can meet this moment head-on. The European Parliament's job is to help to provide the European regulatory framework for the challenges to be met and to show we can save jobs, create new economic niches, modernise and address climate change at the same time. That is what the Next Generation EU funds are about.

We need to help our businesses and industries to compete. We can resist the temptation of overprotectionism but they need to have a level playing field, predictability and trust. That is how we can keep attracting investment and industry to Europe. We can learn from Ireland's remarkable macro-economic recovery and how you have managed to deal with the challenges of Brexit.

Ireland will have a central role to play in addressing the challenges ahead, all the more so since the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union, something the European Union regrets but respects as a democratic choice of a majority of British people. The European Union has not wavered in its solidarity with Ireland, and it is with civility and respect for the rule of law that the European Union and the United Kingdom will pursue their relationship. We will not leave your side.

Honourable Members, after 50 years Ireland continues to be an avid European Union team player, supportive of a European Union of values that strives for more equality, justice and care. One day after St. Brigid's Day, there is no doubt in this country that care matters. Healthcare must be accessible to all. During the pandemic, the European Union stepped up and led on healthcare. We were steadfast in securing vaccines and ventilators for all people in all member states. Now we need to go further and create a real health union. That is the best way that we can honour the unsung heroism of front-line workers and caregivers here in Ireland and around Europe.

Social justice is high on the agenda of Irish Members of the European Parliament, whom I am happy to see here today. Irish MEPs have led the debate in Europe on mental health, the environment, gender equality, agriculture and farming, fighting domestic violence, femicide and so much more. Ireland has led.

I know the European Parliament has had a difficult few weeks but I am confident that we will fix our systems and rebuild trust. Of course, I would have preferred the world's attention to be on the great work that Members of the Parliament do every day, on the agreements we have reached on climate, migration and asylum, energy, funding and support for Ukraine, and on what we have done to protect the rule of law and strengthen our value-based approach. As your Taoiseach said a few weeks ago, the European project is a superpower of values. We should not forget that. It is important to remind people what Europe is all about and help them to recapture the sense of hope and optimism in our European project.

Next year, 2024, the people of Ireland will be called upon to vote for their representatives in the European Parliament. My appeal, to the young Irish in particular, is to choose. Vote. Your vote matters more than you can imagine. Your voice matters more than you know.

Europe is not without imperfections or frustrations. I share many of the frustrations. I think we have to be honest about our failings as much as our successes. There is much that we can improve together, and we are determined to do what is necessary. Be part of that conversation; do not give in to the comfort of easy cynicism, peddled by those who say nothing has ever changed. They are wrong. The last 50 years proves that. For Ireland in Europe and for Europe in Ireland, I know the next 50 years will be a remarkable success story – because Ireland is Europe and Europe is Ireland. Thank you.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Your Excellency, President Metsola, I thank you for those wise and inspirational words.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Ceann Comhairle, Cathaoirleach, President Metsola, distinguished Members of the Dáil and Seanad, Irish MEPs and former Members of the Oireachtas, thar mo cheann féin agus thar ceann mo chomh-Theachtaí, cuirim fáilte ó chroí romhaibh. Ina cáil mar Uachtarán Pharlaimint na hEorpa, is ionadaí chroí daonlathach an Aontais Eorpaigh í. Merħba. Grazzi ħafna.

Ireland is marking 50 years of membership of the European Union this year. It has transformed our country and been a powerful engine for economic and social progress. Today, Ireland is a modern, prosperous and progressive country not only as a result of our own efforts, but because of the immense benefits we gained by joining the European Union. It gave us access to EU markets, to funding that helped us to develop our infrastructure and regions and to an agricultural policy through which we became a major food supplier to the world and which helped to sustain our thriving rural communities. Membership of the European Union has amplified our voice in the world. Today, the European Union is a significant global actor with regard to trade, foreign policy and development. It is also a vocal advocate for climate action. We engage with the world on the basis of our shared values, freedom, democracy and human rights, as well as on the basis of our shared interests.

One of the most significant achievements of the European Union is the European Single Market, which is marking its 30th anniversary. It gave a great economic boost to the Republic of Ireland, unlocking our prosperity, but also removed border checks and restrictions on trade between North and South. Today, it is easy to take for granted the ability to trade, travel, work and study across the European Union without any barriers. You cannot see what is there any more. However, we need only look to the consequences of Brexit and its effects on the UK's young people to be reminded of how complicated life would be for our citizens and businesses were it not for the four freedoms of the European Single Market.

The European Union also provided a space in which peace on this island could be nurtured. It helped remove physical and mental barriers. Differences between North and South, and also between Britain and Ireland, melted away due to EU harmonisation. British and Irish politicians met as equals around the European table and we could more easily see how well aligned, rather than divided, we were on a great many matters, that we had a great deal in common and that there was more uniting us than dividing us. The European Parliament was a place where John Hume and Ian Paisley found common ground. I remember John Hume, that great European, saying how he was inspired by Strasbourg, where the European Parliament sits, in the Alsace region, which has switched between France and Germany throughout history. He asked why, if French and German people who spoke different languages and hurled them at each other through centuries of war could come together through common institutions, the two communities in Northern Ireland, who spoke the same language, could not do the same. The role of the European Parliament continues to this very day through the €1 billion PEACEPLUS programme, which we hope to finalise shortly. This will play a vital role in fostering peace and reconciliation in Ireland, particularly in the Border region. The fact that the President of the Parliament comes from the European Union's smallest member state and a fellow island state is deeply significant for us because we are a union of equals in which the voice of small states really does count.

We meet at a time when peace is absent from our Continent. It has been almost a year since Russia launched its brutal and immoral invasion of Ukraine. We are proud to be part of a European Union that stands resolutely with the people of Ukraine. We will stand with them for as long as it takes. We pay tribute to the President's personal leadership and resolve. She was one of the first political leaders to visit Kyiv in an unambiguous demonstration of our commitment to Ukraine and an encouragement to that country on its European path. The European Union is built on strong foundations of shared values and a common purpose. It is rooted in freedom, democracy, the rule of law and a desire for peace. It continues to offer the hope of a better future to millions of fellow Europeans, from Ukraine to Moldova to the western Balkans, many of whom dream of joining the European Union. We should help to make that dream a reality.

As the President mentioned earlier, this week we celebrate St. Brigid's Day, Lá Fhéile Bríde, or Imbolc, the Celtic new year, which ushers in a new season of light, hope and growth. It reminds me of her inaugural speech to the European Parliament when she was elected President, in which she committed to standing up for the politics of hope and the promise of the European Union. We will always stand by her in that. Once again, the President is most welcome to Ireland. I thank her for addressing these Houses. Fáilte agus go raibh míle maith agat.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim céad míle fáilte chuig an gcomhshuí speisialta seo de Dháil Éireann agus Sheanad Éireann roimh an Uachtarán Metsola. Is pribhléid agus onóir mhór dúinn go bhfuil sí anseo linn ag ceiliúradh 50 bliain de bhallraíocht na hÉireann san Aontas Eorpach ón uair a chaith pobal na tíre seo vóta sa reifreann ar 10 Bealtaine 1972. Táimid fíorbhuíoch den Uachtarán as ucht a ceannaireachta san Eoraip, as a cuid oibre ar fad agus as an tacaíocht leanúnach a thugann sí don tír seo.

It was my great honour to address the European Parliament last June. It was a special and moving occasion on which to reflect on our 50 years of membership of the European Union and also to celebrate the life and achievements of the great Irish parliamentarian, peacemaker and committed European, John Hume, whose bust we together unveiled.

Like the Parliament over which President Metsola presides, this Parliament stands in full solidarity with Ukraine. Russia's illegal and immoral aggression against its peaceful neighbour represents an horrific and violent assault. The impact on the Ukrainian people has been devastating and truly shocking. When I visited President Zelenskyy in Kyiv in July, I heard first-hand civilian accounts of the brutality and violence visited upon Ukrainian men, women and children by occupying Russian forces. The wanton destruction, including the targeting of nuclear facilities and other energy and civilian infrastructure, shows Putin's Russia behaving as a rogue state. The impact of this aggression has reached far beyond Ukraine. The energy crisis and its impact on the cost of living is as keenly felt in homes and businesses here in Ireland as it is in homes and businesses throughout the European Union. However, in the face of all of this, the support and solidarity of the Irish people has been truly inspirational. In the fact of this destruction and devastation, they have opened their communities, their homes and their hearts to more than 72,000 people who were forced to flee the war. We remain unswerving in our political support for Ukraine and in championing its path towards membership of the European Union.

In this Parliament, as in President Metsola's, we have loud debates which include a full range of opinions. However, let there be no doubt about where the Irish people stand with regard to the European Union and our own membership. The Eurobarometer report earlier this year showed that 71% of Irish citizens hold a positive view of the European Union. This is the highest figure recorded and significantly higher than the EU 27 average of 44%. It also found that 88% of Irish citizens were optimistic about the future of the European Union. However, we must never take this support for granted. We must continue to seek and embrace ways to engage citizens, especially our young people, on the aims and benefits of this great Union. We must continue to have a positive agenda of seeking ways to make our Union stronger and more effective.

I thank President Metsola for her visit today, for her ongoing solidarity with Ireland and that of her Parliament in respect of Brexit and for her distinguished contribution in shaping the European Union's future. Go raibh míle maith agat.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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President Metsola is very welcome. This period of commemoration allows us to think big for a moment.

We have just celebrated our 100th year of the establishment of the State. In listening to President Metsola's words, I was thinking that it was founded on a real desire to stand on our own two feet as a nation, a strong sense of a nationalism, but that it was also imbued with an international perspective, an understanding from the start that our strength would only work within international law. Fifty years ago we learned the lesson that going it alone was not working and we wanted to join the European Union to take a further step in our prosperity, security and culture. We were lucky that the Union allowed us in - not lucky, we added to the Union, bringing neutrality, that still sense of not wanting to be militarily aligned. That was important to the time as something we brought and added to the European Union.

There is also what we gained. Strategic decisions at the time to invest in education, back our enterprise and go with the European institutions delivered fantastically for our country. President Metsola mentioned John Hume appropriately. We are approaching the 25-year anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and it is exactly the principle she mentioned, that coercion will not work in our desire for a united Ireland and that respect for diversity is a better way. We changed constitutionally and the vast majority of us voted significantly to take that approach. Now, 25 years on, we need to pause and consider where we are today and where we go for the next 25 and 50 years, recognising that our world is very insecure. Our security in Europe depends on the security of our neighbours in Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans, right the way around. We must recognise also that Europe is at risk. In our economy we are seeing a tendency to import all our software from the United States, all our hardware from Asia and all our energy from Russia and the Gulf. We need to change.

President Metsola's address follows not that long after President von der Leyen addressed us. She said that she believes, and I believe the European Parliament thinks the same, that our future is in going green, the Green New Deal. There is the whole swathe of legislation the European Parliament has before it, the Fit for 55 package of legislative measures. I think there are 20 pieces of legislation that we are going to have to agree this year. That allows us to prepare for the future. It allows us to set the standard in aviation, maritime and digital policy where we need to get the constitutional rights of individuals stitched into the economic future. That is the key to success.

It allows us restore nature. We have lost half of all wildlife in the last 50 years. Nature here, as across our Union, has been destroyed. Unless we address that, everything will be lost, all the foundations of our prosperity and security will be cut from underneath us. President Metsola's presence today is important and there is important work for us all to do. The constitutional, rule of law system we have is incredibly complicated if we try to explain it, even for those involved in the middle of it. It is this trialogue process where the Commission, the Parliament and the Council, the three legs of representative democratic institutions, have to work together. Let us do that. President Metsola's presence is an important moment at an important time when we have to do that legislative work to create the rule of laws that will provide for people's prosperity. I thank her and her colleagues from the European Parliament who are here today for the work they are doing.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Ben arrivata, Signora Presidente. You are very welcome, Madam President. Ireland is a nation that stands proudly for the values of democracy, solidarity, equality and human dignity, for freedom. These are values shared and cherished by the peoples of Europe as we strive to shape a bright future for workers, families and communities in a rapidly changing world. They are of course the values that must drive, reform and recast the European project.

I warmly welcome President Metsola today. She visits us when our togetherness and common purpose have never been more important. A year on, Europe remains unified, Ireland also, in our support for the people of Ukraine against Putin's criminal and barbaric invasion. Russia's illegal war and violation of human rights must be stopped and the journey to peace must begin. Putin must withdraw. The Ukrainian people know that they are not alone. They know that Ireland and Europe will stand with them as they continue their struggle for the liberation of their beloved homeland.

Some 25 years ago, European solidarity was crucial in the success of our peace process and today Ireland is grateful for the unwavering support of our European partners in the face of Brexit. Europe has stood foursquare in defence of the protocol, hard-won protections for Ireland's peace, political stability and our all-Ireland economy. I acknowledge the repeated support of the European Parliament for the protocol and President Metsola's own staunch commitment, reiterated here today, to protect Ireland's interests in the midst of the Brexit storm. Sinn Féin supports the current talks between the European Union and Britain to make the protocol work better. We need pragmatic and durable solutions and we need them quickly. The people of the North of Ireland want stability and certainty. They want to see the Executive back up and running to deliver for them and their families under the leadership of our colleague, Ms Michelle O'Neill MLA, First Minister designate, who joins us today. We need to see an end to the DUP boycott of the political institutions in the North of Ireland. It has been reported that the mood music from the latest protocol talks is positive. That is most welcome. A fair and practical outcome to these negotiations must be delivered and the time for solutions is now.

One of the surest ways of creating change in the world is by speaking honestly with our friends. It is time for the European Union and indeed the wider international community to act forcefully for peace in the Middle East, for an end to Israel's brutalisation of the Palestinians, for an end to the Israeli apartheid regime, a regime that sees annexation and illegal settlements, collective punishment, and the violent targeting of refugees and the dispossessed. In Israeli aggression, Palestinian reprisal, and innocent lives lost in Jenin refugee camp, in Gaza, in synagogues, we see the bitter fruit of the policies of a right-wing, hawkish government. President Metsola rightly reflected earlier on Ireland's colonial experience that shapes our world view. It is in that spirit that I say to her that it is wrong that Israel continues to enjoy a special partnership with the European Union while it tramples on the human rights of Palestinians----

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Hear, hear.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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----and openly and repeatedly violates international law. If the European Union is a Union of values, of peace, then the EU must be to the fore in forming a global movement against Israeli apartheid in Palestine with the same international determination and momentum that defeated apartheid in South Africa three decades ago. Tá a fhios againn nuair a oibríonn muid le náisiúin an Aontais Eorpaigh go bhfuilimid chomh láidir agus is féidir. Bainfimid an rath is mó amach nuair a oibríonn an Eoraip mar fhórsa ar mhaithe leis an domhan chun saol an ghnáthdhuine a fheabhsú agus nuair a oibríonn muid mar chosantóir na síochána thar coimhlint.

President Metsola visits at a time of great change in our country. Ireland has always had the support of our gallant allies in Europe. Europe has kept faith with Ireland and that friendship has meant so very much. We have now had 25 years of peace but we have more to do. Our country remains partitioned but as we walk the final length of our long journey to full nationhood and reunification, I ask our European partners to continue to walk with us. I for one look forward to the day when we see Ireland, our country, in the European Union as a nation united, looking confidently with our European friends to a better future for all our people.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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President Metsola is welcome to the joint sitting of the Houses of the Oireachtas. As the Tánaiste said, the Eurobarometer poll earlier this year revealed that 71% of Irish citizens have a positive image of the EU, the highest rating among the member states. If anything, the fallout from Brexit has boosted those favourable views both here and across the EU.

I acknowledge the staunch support of our EU partners for the Good Friday Agreement and the clear commitment that there will never be a return to a hard border on the island of Ireland. We remain hopeful that a fair compromise is imminent on the Northern Ireland protocol. What is important is that when a deal comes the Good Friday Agreement, which has protected peace and prosperity on the island of Ireland since it was agreed almost 25 years ago, is defended and respected. We want to see the functioning institutions restored in Northern Ireland.

While there is undoubtedly an overwhelmingly positive attitude to the EU in Ireland, there are also concerns about certain policy choices. The EU should be about the social Europe first and the economic Europe second. The fiscal rules, for example, need reform. One size does not fit all. For example, Ireland needs the freedom to deal with infrastructural deficits, climate change and our housing crisis, while maintaining fiscal stability.

I also want to raise the prosecution of an Irishman, Seán Binder, in Greece for the alleged crime of plucking drowning migrants from the sea. In January, some of the charges against Seán and other humanitarian workers were dropped but felony charges, including for people smuggling, remain. Such prosecutions are an attack on the core values of the EU, including human dignity, equality, human rights and the rule of law.

Another attack on the EU institutions is on trust in the EU by way of corruption, to which President Metsola alluded. Allegations that countries such as Qatar and Morocco have bought influence at the highest political level of the European Parliament were deeply shocking. The European Parliament has so far dealt with this scandal firmly and has lifted diplomatic immunity so that MEPs can be criminally investigated. Corruption, if it is found to exist, will rot the institutions from the inside out and must be excised from the roots. When the criminal investigation is over and if allegations against MEPs and lobbyists are proven, a serious review of existing anti-corruption measures in the EU institutions will be required. I am sure President Metsola will have the full support of this country for any such review. I also reiterate our full solidarity with the people of Ukraine and condemn the brutal invasion of a sovereign state.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I welcome President Metsola to Dublin and Ireland. I welcome her commitment to supporting continued peace on this island and to preventing any return to a hard border in this country. I also welcome her comments about the need to address the cost-of-living and housing crises that are gripping Europe and significantly impacting this country. I have to say, however, that it is long past time the European institutions acknowledged the role they played, particularly in response to the economic crisis after 2008 and the decision of the Troika to impose swingeing, cruel and brutal austerity in this country. That is not an historical matter and it has left us with a dire and cruel housing crisis that is inflicting utter misery on record numbers of people in homeless accommodation and tens of thousands of people who are affected by the lack of affordable and public housing. Europe has a great responsibility for the decisions it made in that regard, which also affected the crisis that continues to grip our health service as we were forced to cull thousands of health workers. That has left us a grim legacy in our health services, which are overrun.

I also want to question the assertion President Metsola made about "a superpower of values" and principles. She rightly condemns Vladimir Putin's brutal and invasion of and inexcusable and criminal warmongering in Ukraine, but fails at the same time to condemn the crimes against humanity and the apartheid system that Israel is perpetrating against the Palestinian people, as was recently publicised by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories. When she went to the Knesset in May last year she did not say a word about the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and did not condemn the apartheid regime. The European Union does not call for sanctions in the way it has called for them against Russia.

It is does not assert the legitimacy of the Palestinian people's right to resist an illegal occupation of their land and territory and the criminal apartheid regime that is imposed on them. Those double standards cannot stand. That is not a superpower of principles but one of double standards. Ms Metsola will know that six MEPs from the parliament of which she is president were denied access to go in to monitor the crimes of Israel against the Palestinian people. The humans rights organisations in Palestine wrote to her asking her to speak out against that, which she has failed to do. We need consistency and real principles when it comes to these matters.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I ask Deputies please to try to stick to the allocated times.

Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent)
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Ar mo shon féin agus mo chairde sa Ghrúpa Réigiúnach, cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán. Tá súil againn go mbeidh an t-am a chaitheann sí anseo ina chabhair agus ina ábhar eolais di. Tá súil againn freisin go mbainfidh sí taitneamh as a cuairt go hÉirinn inniu. It is a remarkable feature of our politics that I have the opportunity to address the President of the EU Parliament on the occasion of Ireland's 50th year at the heart of the European project. Three years ago, I entered politics principally out of frustration at the lack of a 24-7 emergency cardiac service for County Waterford and, more generally, unequal access to healthcare and education in the region. Everyone in the room will appreciate how swiftly I worked in my parish concerns there.

The warm welcome offered to the president today needs to be compared to the contested ground of the céad míle fáilte that Ireland currently musters for refugees. Irish people know that migration is a long term and often forever entanglement. The kindness and decency of the welcome matters. There can be no second-class citizens in a republic, even in our flawed Republic. Yet, we are now at risk of emulating the cold house of our English neighbours offered to Irish labourers in the 1950s, or the sentiment there delivering unconscionable treatment to the Windrush generation, in addition to their explicitly hostile environment for migrants.

Irish people value a warm welcome but the ability of our politics and that of the EU to deliver one is now an open question. Ireland can certainly afford a dignified reception. This week's GDP numbers show that the calibre of the welcome relates to the Government's capability rather than resources. The EU can also afford a warm house and a warm welcome. Ms Metsola, in her address on her election as president, affirmed a commitment to European values of dignity, solidarity and fundamental rights. Will our politics and governance allow us to live these values? Are we capable of ensuring that no more people meet the same fate as Alan Kurdi in the Mediterranean? It is profoundly a question of capability.

Realistically, in Ireland, it is a question of solving the housing crisis and the broader challenge of raising the capacity and the quality of government services. Our politics is tired and weary from permanent polycrises, including the bailout, the pandemic, housing, health and the energy crisis. The cost of failure to deliver is that we allow our values slip. If that happens, we will be diminished as a people. We will be known not for our welcome but our inability to welcome those who throw in their lot with ours.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán Metsola go dtí an Teach. I also say to her that we have had benefits from the EU. We have also inherited many problems. Mention has been made of housing and the troika and the damage they left behind. A trail of terror has been blazed by vulture funds and the banks in this country on ordinary householders and small businesses.

We also have the situation regarding the Paris Agreement green deal of 2015, which is outdated at this stage. It is a goal we cannot continue with because it is putting penury and misery on ordinary people. We see countries such as China, India and Germany opening dirty coal mines at the moment, while we are taking all these measures at the behest of this agreement. I am not against climate change. I am saying we have to revisit this outdated-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We know that. That is the problem.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Everybody was afforded the chance to speak. Will this ignorance carry on again in front of our guest today?

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy, please.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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It is the usual. This Parliament is becoming very regressive. People with an alternative view have no place here. Deputy Murphy and his colleagues then lecture other people on what they should do. I am entitled to represent my group and my views here, a Cheann Comhairle-----.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Please, yes.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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-----if that is possible. We have sniggers and insults across the floor. It is disgusting behaviour that has crept in from those who will not tolerate anything.

A situation is also being forced on us in respect of the refugee crisis. We are "Ireland of the thousand welcomes", of course, but the problem is the management of that welcome and of inward migration, and the undocumented people who have arrived here. There is a lack of both information and a cohesive plan. We saw it in Lismore this week and it could be in the town of Cahir, where I live, next week, where rumour emerges. I have spoken about it to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, who is doing his best, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We need planning. We do not have the hospital services, again thanks to the troika and the banking collapse. We do not have the teaching capability or the services in place. We are foisting people on communities with no information, no proper truth and no proper debate. That is not a good situation. We want to welcome. We want to be able to say, "Ní neart go cur le chéile", as the Ceann Comhairle said, but we want to do so positively and together. We want to be able to debate the policy in this House. We have not had that debate for the past year. We will have statements next week, thankfully, when we will have some modicum of debate.

All is not well in our little country. Europe has been good to us. We are celebrating 50 years in the EU but its policies are affecting the sale of portions of Coillte. European rules will not allow Coillte to avail of grants. This must be re-examined. The policies are too rigid to allow our economy to thrive. For our people to survive and be the vibrant people they are, we need better understanding from Europe for us.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Uachtarán go dtí an Teach. As a former MEP, I remember her when she was also an MEP, in particular in her role as vice chair of the petitions committee, where many petitioners from across Europe, including Ireland, came to make their case. I remember her humane approach and consideration, which was appreciated.

However, we did not always agree politically. As a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, ALDE, which is now the Renew Europe group, I remember we were sometimes on different sides of the argument. In a way, I see that as part of the strength of the European Parliament in that there is no in-built majority. Many majorities are constructed around specific issues and legislation. That allows MEPs from groups, large and small, to influence outcomes through compromise amendments at committee and plenary sessions. That strengthens the legitimacy of the democratic workings of the Parliament and helps to ensure that diverse voices can be heard.

I commend the European Parliament on its steadfast support for Ireland throughout the entire Brexit process and its support for Ukraine as Russia targets its citizens and homeland. I agree with the President that the parliament is most certainly not without its failings. Her challenge is to minimise those, strengthen links to citizens and rebuild trust. As we celebrate 50 years of membership of the EU, I wish her well.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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It is interesting that another president of Europe is present today, although President Metsola represents the European Parliament. The most recent president we were blessed with was the President of the Commission where, arguably, all the power lies, the members of which are all unelected bureaucrats. Not to be undone, and to give the impression that the EU is a democratic organisation, a democratically elected member of the parliament is present today.

The purpose of today's visit is to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our membership of the EU. It would be nice to have Europeans here thanking us for our total contribution of fish to the EU, which far outweighs any help in terms of the value of moneys we have received from Europe since we joined. Acknowledging that we have been hoodwinked over the years, even to this day, when France, Spain, Belgium and a host of other EU countries have more entitlement to our fish stocks than we have, would be welcome and would at least make us believe that the EU is interested in what we have to say.

Of course, the EU has always had plenty of our ruling parties to help it along the way.

3 o’clock

We are guilty of assisting in our own denigration unfortunately. Our ruling parties are going to happily get rid of our neutrality in the coming years and we will become an integral part of the European empire. I wonder what the European Parliament has to say about that but then the European Parliament will not have a role in defence. That will be left totally to the unelected Commission which is only required to inform the Parliament that it is going to war.

It is also interesting that President Metsola is from another neutral member state of the Union. I hope it is not in name only. Does the Government of Malta carry on in the same way as the Irish Government and happily undermine neutrality at every opportunity? Perhaps the Maltese Government has more backbone and will defend what its citizens believe.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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Mar an cainteoir deireanach, ar son Bhaill Dháil Éireann agus Sheanad Éireann, gabhaim míle buíochas leis an Uachtarán as ucht na hóráide iontaí inniu agus as an gcairdeas agus tacaíocht a thugann sí féin agus baill Pharlaimint na hEorpa don Rialtas agus do phobal na hÉireann. Members of Seanad Éireann and Dáil Éireann, it is my pleasure to welcome President Metsola and thank her for her support and friendship to us as a democracy and a nation.

The European Parliament represents the second largest electorate in the world. The people of Ireland value being part of that electorate. For 50 years since 1973, 50 bliain ag fás, we have benefited from economic and developmental opportunities. More than this, our membership of the European Union enables us to stand with the hundreds of millions of Europeans who share our commitment to democracy and peace. President Metsola, today your address was both honest, challenging and sobering and we thank you for that. Tá seanfhocal sa Gaeilge agus tá súil agam go bhfuil an ceann céanna sa Mháltais. There is a saying in Irish, and I think a very similar one in your own language: Tagann an ghrian i ndiaidh na fearthainne - the sun follows after the rain. These are challenging times, as many of our speakers today have said, in our region and they demand a strong European Union. As President of the European Parliament you have shown your commitment to lead, renew and strengthen Europe in preparation for brighter days ahead. We thank you for your leadership, your presence and your visit to us today, which we see as a sign of Europe’s continued commitment to Ireland as well as Ireland’s continued commitment to Europe, as you have said.

Your visit comes, as we spoke of at lunch, after an ancient Gaelic festival called Imbolc. For Christians, it is the feast day of St. Brigid and traditionally observed on the first day of February. Imbolc marks the beginning of spring, a time of renewal and a time of hope. I mention this today as a reminder to all of us that Europe, as a project of peace, has hope at its centre. In your role as President of the European Parliament you have been an agent of that hope. Your presidency has been simultaneous with the unjust war in Ukraine and you have met this challenge by demonstrating that Europe's strength lies in solidarity and unity. Ireland is proud to be represented in the European Parliament that is a beacon of hope for Ukraine and a driver of positive change in Europe and the world. I welcome today to our joint sitting members of the European Parliament who are here. I see former Senator, Deputy and Minister, Frances Fitzgerald MEP, Maria Walsh MEP, Deirdre Clune MEP and former MEP Gay Mitchell. You are very welcome. I want to welcome Michelle O'Neill to our sitting today and thank her for your leadership as well.

A Uachtaráin, thank you for being here today. You went to Kyiv at a time when leadership was needed. You have demonstrated again that you are preparing for that brighter day. We wish you a very positive visit to our country. We thank you for your support. Go raibh míle maith agat.