Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. I wish him a belated happy Europe Day. Today is important for reflecting on what 9 May means. It is important that we celebrate our membership of the European Union as citizens of Ireland and of the European Union, and as a nation with a proud tradition of being in the European Union. We should look at the European project in its entirety and always look objectively, as Senator Flynn said, at how we can improve the lives of people who may have been left behind, who might not have benefited as they should have from the European project and our economic and social development as a nation.

I am a very proud European person. I am also a proud Irishwoman, a proud Louth woman and a proud Cooley Peninsula woman. All those identifications do not dilute our reject other identities. We should all stand tall in our identities and embrace and be proud of each one of them.

We need to acknowledge the importance of our elevation into the European Union. The Irish nation was not always welcomed at a European level. After the First World War, we went to Paris to ask for recognition of this Irish nation and we were denied that. We were denied support for our right to self-determination as a small nation but now our place is in Europe and our voices are heard. That did not happen by accident. It came from decades of strong diplomatic performances by our diplomats, civil servants and successive Irish Governments. Modern Ireland did not happen by accident. It began when Seán Lemass took over as a Fianna Fáil Taoiseach. He looked to the future and changed how we looked beyond Ireland, to make Ireland a modern nation. In 1961 he first applied to Europe under a Fianna Fáil Government and it took us 11 years to become members.

People always ask what Europe has done for us. It has done an awful lot. Peace has been mentioned - peace on the Continent but also in Ireland. People often do not give the European Union recognition for the Good Friday Agreement and the important role it played in its success, the signing of it and how it came about. Without that, we would not have the strong Good Friday Agreement we have. The European Union gives us a voice on an international stage. It gave us legitimacy on an international stage when Ireland was seen as a small nation on the outskirts of Europe. Now we are a small nation at the heart of Europe. It has also given us funding. Nobody can deny the impact of the regional and structural funds we have received over the past 50 years of our membership, the infrastructure it has created and supported or the peace funds it has supported. There is also the Common Agricultural Policy and the impact it has had on education and communities. We learn from other countries and create links with other nations and our friends all across Europe.

The European Union has shown us how we can work collectively together on climate change. Now we see how we need to work and stand tall against the Russian aggressor. The Russian war has drastically exposed issues around energy security. I would criticise Germany's position over the past couple of years as we have slept on this and walked ourselves into this reliance. We allowed the bigger nations of Europe to not listen to experts and move towards greater reliance on gas and coal from Russia. Thankfully, the war has exposed that but we need to be stronger in moving collectively as a European Union, looking inward and outside the European Union as well. The European Union also needs to stand far taller on human rights abuses. There are countries both in Europe and outside it where it has not been strong enough. We need to be stronger and we need to call out people who are talking out both sides of their mouths on an awful lot of issues, in the European Parliament and other places of authority. They are not standing tall or proud and are not being progressive in looking after all the citizens of Europe. I could go on. It is a good day to stand tall as European citizens and celebrate Europe Day.