Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Fianna Fáil grouping, I welcome these statements today. I congratulate my party colleague, Senator O'Loughlin on her report for the Reykjavik Summit which sets out the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's proposals for the summit. I also commend the work of other colleagues who have sat on that as well, Senator Joe O'Reilly, Senator Gavan and Senator Garvey. I commend them on their work. I have seen, over the past 12 months, the level of engagement and work that has been undertaken by those Senators in terms of travel, reading, putting documents together and preparing for meetings. There has been a considerable amount of work done to get to where we are today, and to produce the report we are discussing. I commend them for their work that has perhaps gone a little bit unnoticed outside of the bubble. Today gives us the opportunity to platform the work that has been done by our colleagues cross-party and, in particular, our Chair, Senator O'Loughlin.

It has been interesting to listen to the contributions. I am quite struck by the length of time that has elapsed between the upcoming summit and the last one, which is 18 years. It is a considerable period of time and it is long overdue that the Council of Europe would hold the summit. I am struck by the comments of the Minister of State, who spoke about the establishment of the Council of Europe and Ireland being there at the beginning, and the founding values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, which we still hold dear today. However, very often it can become quite high level and as with many things, once you become accustomed to the values and they are broadly left untouched, you almost forget about them and become complacent. There is no doubt that the aggressive war by Russia against the Ukrainian people and the state has really brought those issues to the fore. It has allowed us time to reflect on their importance, and also their fragility, and the need to protect them and to reiterate our support and our stance that we still hold those values very dear, even in a new modern Europe facing consistent challenges, including migration, climate change and war. We still want to maintain those values and protect them. We want to, and are willing, to work with like-minded allies, member states and countries beyond the European Union. We still want to work together to uphold those values.

Obviously, the focus of the summit is very much on the war in Ukraine. There is a lot to discuss there. There is a focus on support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people and on our condemnation of the actions of Russia. We will also talk about the impact on all of us - on all member states and beyond - of that war. It has been referenced by other speakers in terms of inflation, pressures on food supply and the mass migration of people. There are some 80,000 residing here in Ireland, and many of them will make Ireland their permanent home. Reference has been made to the pressure that has put on our systems here, including housing and healthcare, and the integration process that is well under way in communities right across the country. This war has has a profound impact on Ireland and all member states. We will be dealing with it for decades to come, and there will be significant changes across Europe because of it.

The meeting that will take place in Reykjavik points out that Europe has faced extraordinary challenges. I note that there are calls on governments to reaffirm the Council's role as a beacon for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and as a community of values with a pan-European vocation. There are also calls to show unwavering support for Ukraine and to play an active and leading role in creating an ad hoctribunal to prosecute crimes of aggression, which is most important, and to strengthen the impact of the Council's work on democracy, including by creating a democracy checklist for states and establishing a Council of Europe commissioner for democracy and rule of law. These are very practical solutions that are implementable, achievable and will have an impact. Very often, politicians and public representatives can be accused of lots of talk and very little action and follow-through. These are practical recommendations that can be implemented, and I certainly hope that they will be.

I agree with the comments made by Senator Higgins about the importance of civil society contributions. I have had contact, as I am sure other Senators have, with the Irish Council of Civil Liberties, ICCL, which has made that point and wanted it to be highlighted here in the debate today. It is important that there is space for all voices when we have these conversations. I reiterate my support for the commissioner for democracy, as articulated very well by Senator O'Loughlin, and the other issues that have been addressed as well. I agree that very interestingly, the whole area of artificial intelligence, AI, is something we are only really starting to see in mainstream debate now. I note that my colleague, Senator Malcolm Byrne, published a very interesting article in theBusiness Postrecently. It is only starting to come into public discourse now, but it is already having a significant impact on people's lives and there are many dangers associated with it.

I will finish on that point. I thank the Minister of State for being here to listen to the debate. I thank my colleagues for their work, and I look forward to the follow-through after the report and the meeting. It is important that we do not just have the meeting and the summit and move on. It is really important that the recommendations are taken seriously, that they are implemented and actioned, and that that is done uniformly across all member states.