Results 1-20 of 2,515 for speaker:Colm Brophy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I was struck by one thing as Mr. Ahern was talking about the arguments made about enlargement 20 years ago. Some things may have changed but those arguments, believe me, happened. They have been dusted down and have been said to all of us in our various work as we have met candidate states. Mr. Ahern would be amazed at how similar some of the tones are. A number of people have indicated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I ask Mr. Ahern to reply whenever he is ready.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I wish to draw people’s attention to the fact we have access to the room until approximately 12.30 p.m. We have had substantial and interesting contributions. A number of other people wish to come in and I am conscious of the fact we have about 30 or 35 minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: It was not. I promise the Deputy it was not. I just-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I apologise. I assure the Deputy it was not that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: The Deputy put a wide range of questions to Mr. Ahern.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I thank Mr. Ahern. To show Deputy Ó Murchú that it was not just him, I am going to reiterate my reminder that it is now 12.10 p.m. Members might stay within the time if they can. Senator Keogan is up next.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: On that point, it is necessary to have two parties willing to engage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: Unfortunately, what we have clearly and patently seen is a British Government that is manifestly different from the one with which Mr. Ahern dealt. It is very difficult for our State, which still believes implicitly in the values of the Good Friday Agreement and everything it created, to be dealing now with something that is fundamentally different from the situation in the past. That...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I am conscious of other members wishing to speak. As a committee, we have seen the bond Mr. Ahern referred to, whereby Ireland and Britain worked together in so many ways in the European context and strengthened each other by way of our involvement in Europe. The loss of that engagement, arising out of Brexit, has never really been calculated. For Ireland, it is a loss equal to that of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I thank Mr. Ahern and call Senator Martin.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I wish to add one thing that I thought was interesting. On a recent visit to Brussels, we talked to the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union. We then effectively met the Northern Ireland Office. It does an inter-staff transfer to facilitate that deepening of ties and understanding. Somebody from the Northern Ireland Office works in the perm rep and somebody from the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I start our special meeting today by welcoming our former Taoiseach Mr. Bertie Ahern. I thank him for joining us. We wanted to have a chance to engage with him this week as tomorrow, 9 May, is Europe Day. That gives us an opportunity to celebrate peace and unity across the EU. It is a very important day for those of us who have a very strong belief in and commitment to the European...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: 20th Anniversary of the 2004 EU Enlargement: Mr. Bertie Ahern (8 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: That is shocking.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: UN Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (1 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: On behalf of the committee, I welcome Mr. David Donoghue, who is a former senior official at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Donoghue served in several senior leadership roles, including his final appointment as Ireland's permanent representative to the UN in New York. Also joining us today are representatives from Coalition 2030. We are expecting to be joined online by Ms Meaghan...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: UN Sustainable Development Goals: Discussion (1 May 2024)

Colm Brophy: I thank Ms Carmody for her opening statement.