Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our four MEPs to the Chamber. While Dublin is not my constituency, I am delighted to speak to them. I will leave the issues of agriculture and CAP to one side as we spoke about them with some of their colleagues previously. On the issue of connectivity, Ireland is more connected than we think. I know that Mr. Cuffe took the train but a couple of us here will be taking the train and the boat to COP26 on Saturday and Sunday. It leaves in the morning and arrives in the afternoon. There is a lot more connectivity than just airports and it is important that we invest in that. An important part of that connectivity picture is Northern Ireland because we are travelling via the North to Scotland.

Today is a hugely important day. Most of what I am going to say involves questioning our MEPs on the work of the EU and their own work. That is what they are here for and that kind of engagement is important. There is no point in me standing up here and giving a fine speech because our guests have the answers. We hear people saying constantly that they do not know what MEPs do. In every one of their addresses today, they have laid out what they do, which is quite telling. We do not stand up here every day and say what it is that we do. That highlights the fact that there is a lack of connection. It is important because it is people in Ireland who vote for MEPs. Mr. Cuffe mentioned all of the things around Dublin that European funding has paid for and Ms Fitzgerald did likewise. Money talks and we forget that a lot of the infrastructure around our island was developed with European funding.

Senator Horkan commented that the EU is a peace project and we need to talk about that. I would like to hear our guests' thoughts on the rule of law and how that is, or is not, operating at the moment. In the context of Poland, I ask them to speak on the delays and perceived lack of action by the Commission. It is important to get that piece right. Otherwise, we are living as neighbours with people whom we fundamentally know are not buying into the same peace project that we have all signed up to and for which we all voted.

Trade, which is an area of specific interest to Mr. Andrews, can be very opaque when it comes to the EU. It is absolutely essential that Irish people understand what they are signing up to and that MEPs understand that too. I would love to hear the MEPs' views on Mercosur in particular and on trade in general. A lot of the early stages of trade negotiations seem to happen behind closed doors before they even reach the European Parliament. I ask our guests to comment on that. Are reforms needed at this stage?

I would like to touch on an issue that is very close to my heart, namely, the European care strategy which was raised by Ms. Fitzgerald. The last couple of years have changed the narrative on care and community. Who would have thought that a citizens' assembly a couple of years ago would decide that we do not need to remove care from our Constitution but amend references to it? We need to take out the gender bias but we need to reflect the fact that, fundamentally, the Irish people are a people who care. We have huge levels of volunteerism and community activism. It has been recognised now that when it comes to the care of children, every form of care matters. I look forward to having further conversations with our MEPs on that issue. I appeared before an Oireachtas justice and equality committee, of which Ms Daly was a member, before I was elected as a politician, to discuss this very issue. At that time, it was almost a new idea that care is not just about childcare but about the care we all give each other, old and young.

Finally, in terms of our international obligations around climate, it is fair to say that the EU and all developed countries have failed when it comes to climate justice. We have not even reached the bare minimum of €100 billion in climate finance for developing nations. I attended the pre-COP26 meeting in Rome and it was heartbreaking to listen to the stories of developing nations. There is a loss of trust. Where do our MEPs stand in relation to the TRIPS waiver? That was a key opportunity for developed nations to show developing nations that they can trust us and that we really are all in this together, both in terms of the pandemic and climate action.