Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our MEPs, Ms Walsh and Mr. Markey, to the Chamber. This is an exciting day for us as a House as well because it marks the beginning of a new initiative by the Cathaoirleach to foster a greater connection with the European Parliament. It is our first opportunity to have MEPs in the Chamber. They represent my constituency of Midlands-North-West, so it is great to have them both here. I look forward to greater engagement over the period ahead.

Both our guests touched on some interesting aspects. I agree with them that the Conference on the Future of Europe is an opportunity for us as citizens of Europe to reflect on the Union, the 45 years we have been a member and where we are going, particularly as we emerge from not just the pandemic but also the Brexit process. We are still dealing with the latter but we are on the other side of it, if I can put it that way. Both those events have rocked the European Union, but we are still standing and I think they will make us stronger and more unified.

It was a clever and insightful remark when Mr. Markey stated vaccines had made Europe relevant to Irish citizens over the past year and a half. I fully agree. It was one issue where we looked to Europe. We would not have procured the same volume of vaccines if we had not banded together with other member states and negotiated collectively to get them for our citizens. It was the great success story for the EU, despite a rocky start, which Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the Commission, acknowledged in her state of the Union address.

The Commission did a very good job on vaccines but that was not the case at the outset. Ms von der Leyen came under significant scrutiny at the beginning, suggesting there was too much negotiation and red tape and we were a bit slow off the mark. It came good, however, and it has worked out very well for Ireland. We are now in the really good position whereby we can send vaccines to third world countries and start meeting our global responsibilities to ensure that the most vulnerable are vaccinated, which is the next task of the Union.

Of the topics that get Irish citizens excited about Europe or talking about Europe, there are three I identify as the most important, namely, agriculture, tax and defence. They are the three that are most provocative at times. They are sometimes controversial and we do not always agree on where we should go in our policy in those areas, but they are areas worth focusing on.

I might touch on the comments of the President of the Commission in her state of the Union address. She focused on many issues but she made a very good job of the speech. It was an important point for her to reflect on where the Union was going and to come out fighting, and she did that. She addressed all the key issues, including domestic violence, which was fantastic because she has been a leader and an inspiration to female representatives and women across the board. She referred to the issue as a shadow pandemic. She addressed events in Afghanistan and the ongoing human rights atrocities there, but again she focused on women, children and female judges, who are now running from those they had imprisoned for their offences. She cleverly worked in many issues that perhaps are not debated as often as they should be, and she is using her position very well in that regard.

The European year of youth 2022 was mentioned, which is brilliant, and Ms von der Leyen acknowledged the great sacrifice our young people have made this past year and a half. They have lost more than anyone, including missing out on life milestones. The president touched on two issues that are key for us to debate in the House and I would welcome our guests' comments and thoughts on this. The first related to defence, the European defence union and the summit that she and the French President, Emmanuel Macron, will convene to discuss European defence policy. That has always been a hot topic in Ireland and it has always provoked the most robust debate in the context of the treaty debates. We do not have a unified approach to the matter. Ms von der Leyen cleverly focused on cybersecurity and the new grounds where the threats are coming from. She spoke about the ability to take down a country's health service from a laptop or smartphone and we know all about that here because we are still dealing with the fallout from the cyberattack on our health service and the impact on the victims of that, namely, patients who need those services. I would welcome our guests' thoughts on what conversations are happening in the European Parliament on foot of those comments. What are MEPs saying and what role do our guests expect to play in that conversation?

The second issue to highlight in Ms von der Leyen's comments related to a minimum rate of corporation tax, another topic that is very much live in Ireland. While the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform are very much pushing Ireland’s agenda on that - we make no apology for that - Ms von der Leyen was clear in her calls for a minimum rate of corporation tax, and we know that would mean Ireland increasing its rate.We have to acknowledge that we are moving in a particular direction, which is fine, but I would welcome our guests' thoughts on her comments around that and where the European Union is going in getting buy-in from member states, given that we have a veto on that issue and how they might see that playing out for Ireland in the years ahead?