Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. The European Union was a vision of bringing our countries together after the horrors of the Second World War for peace, understanding that all nations have to work together for success. Some 50 years ago, Ireland voted to join the European Union and seek peace and prosperity. That was in the 1970s, at a time when there was so much poverty. There was so much poverty in the 1940s and 1950s. When I was doing my Irish oral and aural exams for the leaving certificate, they were all about emigration and people leaving our country. In the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, hundreds of thousands of people were leaving our shores.We were told the best and brightest were leaving. While we have an important diaspora, we now have something to offer at home. That is what the European Union has brought about for us here in Ireland. We have world-class people in Ireland. These are people who shine in every walk of life. Whether it is in arts and culture, enterprise, research or agriculture, our people are there at the top. Ireland has taken its place among the nations but that is thanks to some of the incredible representatives we have had in Ireland over the decades. We have Mairead McGuinness, previously a Vice President of the European Parliament and now in a highly influential role as European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union.

This Union is also about peace. We have seen that in what we have achieved in Northern Ireland. A quote from John Hume was highlighted for Europe Day. He stated, "the European Union is the best example in the history of the world of conflict resolution". It has shown how countries can come together and work together for peace but it also shows how countries can stand up and protect what we have here, a democracy. We are fighting for democracy on all levels. Here in Ireland, we know what we have but we look to the likes of Ukraine and see how its people are suffering. We see that it is for everyone to fight for democracy today and every day and that it should not be taken for granted.

It is always about someone with a vision. We have seen strong leadership, particularly in the case of President Zelenskyy, but it is always the visionaries who bring us our future. Robert Schuman had a vision when the European Union was being developed. It was about looking at the ruins of Europe coming out of the Second World War and seeing how we could develop an economy that would bring prosperity to all nations and peoples across Europe.

As a woman, I am aware that the European Union has also had a great impact in respect of women's rights. If it was not for the European Union, where would the women of Ireland be? There was a school group in here earlier with young women. When I was a young woman in school, it was incredible to me that women did not get equal pay. Why would we not get equal pay for doing the same job? We are still fighting for that today. We are still looking at gender equality and gender balance. We are looking at our universities. For the first time in Ireland, three of our university presidents are female. That has only happened in the last year or two. We are looking at the 30% Club and its aim of ensuring that 30% of the members of all boards are women.

We have come a hell of a long way, and not by basing ourselves on the Ireland of the 1940s and 1950s. The men and women of Ireland stand proud of what we have now in 2022, which comes from what we started in the 1970s. Prosperity is key, as is our economy and our enterprise. Coming from the west of Ireland, I know that the regions are very important. We are a region in transition. As a result of membership of the European Union, over €40 billion has been invested since the 1970s. Over 40% of our exports are to the European Union. If we did not have that investment in our road infrastructure to open up our regions, to allow vehicles and trucks to come to these areas and to allow people to export from the likes of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon, there would be no way for the economy in the regions to survive. I am thinking of the outer areas and even the islands. That investment has been crucial.

As a European Union citizen, the European Union has meant everything to me growing up. I had the opportunity to take part in the Erasmus programme when I was in college. I was doing history and learning French and I had the opportunity to study for a year in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. It was my first time ever leaving the country. That was through what was University College Galway, is now the National University of Ireland, Galway, and will soon be the University of Galway. I got to stand tall as a woman from the west, coming from a small town, going abroad and learning before bringing that learning back to Ireland. Over the last two years, there have been lockdowns and people have not been able to travel. One of the most important things for our young people is being able to travel and to go abroad. One can travel freely within the European Union. One can live, work or take time out in any country of the EU. We have such a wonderful region. People working can create a Europass CV and travel and work. It is incredible to think what that can bring to a country. It opens up the mind.

I spoke about fighting for democracy. One of the other key things about the European Union relates to how we are open to accepting all types of people, all types of backgrounds, all the new nationalities coming to live in Ireland and the new communities, to making sure that we are welcoming and open to new thoughts and perspectives, and that our country will be better and stronger as part of the European Union.