Ms Frances Fitzgerald:

The commentary from all of the Senators has been fascinating. A discussion in the Seanad differs from a discussion in the European Parliament because we can hear the points of view of Senators. Like my colleagues, I obviously cannot do justice to all of the points that have been raised. I will, however, discuss three areas beginning with that of the European care strategy referred to by Senator Currie and a number of other Senators. I imagine that the following will come out of the European care strategy. First, we will look at who has access to care. We will consider the affordability, sustainability and quality of care. We will consider who provides the care and the gender aspect. What we can do is gather data. We can look at the EU funding that will be made available. We can look at the gender questions of work-life balance, a matter to which quite a number of Senators referred. I think it will be very comprehensive in terms of making recommendations based on all of those points and I could say a whole lot more. Europe can be a leader in this area. Across Europe, it is amazing how little data there is on who is doing the caring. Sometimes it is so informal - it is done by migrant workers and so on. There are a lot of workers' rights issues as well, which Senator Higgins and others mentioned.

Second, the rule of law is a very current issue. I spoke directly to the Polish President at our meeting just a week or so ago. I thought the hearing was chilling in terms of his reactions and challenges to Europe. We are at the cutting edge with the rule of law and how we are going to deal with the €38 billion budget that Poland could get. Hungary and Poland have both at the centre of the whole question of whether the EU can have conditionality when it comes to the budget. That is going to be a really serious issue. There is increasing determination within the European Parliament not just to speak about but to take action, not least because of what has happened in respect of women's rights and the rights of the LGBTQI community in Poland. It is disgraceful what has gone on there. However, elections are due to be held in 2023 and tens of thousands of Poles have taken to the streets saying that they want to stay in the European Union. As a result, I do not think it is the same as Brexit.

The third and final area is equality in general. Europe has been a leader in so many areas, including equality. I would say that Europe has been a leader in climate although Ms Daly has commented to the contrary. However, when one looks around the world, one will see that Europe leads in many arenas.