Mr. Ciarán Cuffe:

I thank Senator Conway for his question on what we do about the next pandemic or health crisis. As I said in my introductory remarks, we need to have greater co-ordination on health at an EU level but when it comes to pounds, shillings and pence, the European Centre for Disease Control has one hundredth of the budget of its US equivalent. We need to beef up our health competency at a European level so that we are ready with clear data on what is going on, whether it is the spread of Covid in central Europe or the next known unknown that may occur.

On the issue of the shared island raised by Senator Blaney, I was in Belfast yesterday and a bus was set alight, allegedly as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol. I have also sat on the board of a charity based in Belfast and believe that we need more common projects across the Border. We need more common projects that involve both Governments working together. When it comes to regional disparities, we need to devolve more powers to the regions rather than have Dublin controlling the purse strings. That is very important.

On the issue of China, I have spoken with Mr. O'Halloran's family. I have worked in China and believe that it is difficult to find a common dialogue that will work. In recent months, some of my MEP colleagues have been banned from entering China, including Mr. Reinhard Bütikofer, who has been very outspoken about Chinese foreign policy. We need to speak truth to power about the Uygher people and unfair and unlawful detentions. I have written to the Chinese ambassador to Ireland and have received lacklustre responses, to say the least.

On the issue of the rule of law, financial penalties concentrate the mind. Some anti-LGBTQI+ declarations in Poland have been rescinded because of the withdrawal of EU funding for tourism. The €1 million per day fines against Poland will concentrate the mind but I agree with Ms Daly and Chancellor Merkel that we must be careful here. We also need to ensure that our own house is in order. Up until very recently, we had a Minister who was preoccupied with ensuring that the appointment of judges was not politicised. We need to be quite careful in that regard. Dialogue is how we overcome this. As always, there is a danger that we will polarise Europe and that is unhealthy for the approach we take to the big issues of the day. We have to work together on the big issues to be addressed in a Europe of 450 million people, such as inequalities, immigration, the Covid response and the issues being debated over the next two weeks in Glasgow. The only way forward is through co-operation, listening and sitting down with each other, even those with whom we might not share a common language or common ground. For all the bureaucracy and challenges of working in the European Parliament, it is the globe's second biggest democratic assembly and it is a place where we can achieve progress on the huge economic, social and environmental issues of the day. I want to keep this dialogue with the Seanad going in order to feed its views into the work we do for Dublin, for Ireland and for Europe.