Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Hear, hear. I am calling for a debate on the World Health Organization pandemic treaty and its implications for Ireland's future freedoms and autonomy in responding to a health crisis, as well as the European Parliament's attitude towards a joint armed force and its implications for our time-honoured neutrality. We need to be talking about the big-picture stuff in this Chamber. We do help local councillors in liaising with the Government and aid them in their service of the people of Ireland. We are happy to do that, but in addition to legislating, we should also be looking into the future and beyond our borders, examining our role in the grand scheme of things so as not to get caught out and off guard. It is important that we speak about these important issues in advance. It is not good enough to hastily edit a weekly schedule to take account of a landmark international shift happening in the next week or so.

It seems increasingly the case that whenever someone tries to shine a light on what is coming down the line, there is a heightened risk of having the truth of his or her claims disputed in this Chamber. Accusations of false information and untruths abound, despite section 425 of the salient rulings of the chair detailing that it has been ruled as disorderly to state that a Member was telling untruths. This is typical of post-2016 western discourse where disinformation and fake news have become labels slapped on just about anything people disagree with, do not want to talk about or simply are not aware of themselves. It cheapens and dilutes the effects of the words and the idea behind them and has rendered them practically useless in combating real propaganda.

If I were to say, for example, that the European Parliament is planning mandatory school training in fake news, or that it is also planning to allow a European joint armed force, which could be deployed overseas, some could hear these sentences and think that sounds like a conspiracy theorist, but they are actually proposals adopted last month by the European conference plenary, which parliaments voted to support on Friday. It is important that we can address these issues in the comprehensive and critical manner befitting the House. I once again ask for a debate on these issues.