Garret Kelleher (Fine Gael)

Indeed. Welcome, guests. In a statement to the House in April on the back of the tariff announcements from the new Administration in the United States, I spoke of the importance of the European Union and co-operation with our EU partners in dealing with the challenges we face at a global level. It was in stark contrast to the Paris Peace Conference and subsequent Treaty of Versailles in 1919 in the aftermath of First World War, where leadership and vision was shown by people like Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, Alcide De Gasperi and Konrad Adenauer. They sought to put the conflicts of the past behind them by working together on a common market in the area of coal and steel to prevent future war, which was at the core of what they set out to achieve, particularly with the Schuman Declaration, the 75th anniversary of which we are commemorating on Europe Day next week. We subsequently saw further strengthening of ties with the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, which marked the establishment of the EEC, later the EC and the EU, which came into being in 1993.Senators O'Loughlin and Murphy spoke about the late John Hume and how he took inspiration from the success of post-war Franco-German relations in strengthening his belief in the possibility of bringing about peace and stability on our island during a time of conflict, violence and division. The recognition of and respect for our differences was always at the heart of John Hume's work and was also at the core of the Schuman Declaration, which we celebrate.

Senator O'Loughlin mentioned that today is national poetry day. I will quote from a poem by Friedrich Schiller written back in 1785, which was subsequently adopted by Beethoven in his ninth symphony, which is now the EU anthem. The poem reads:

Deine Zauber binden wieder,

Was die Mode streng geteilt;

Alle Menschen werden Brüder,

Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

The idea is that binding together is far more important than division. That is very much at the core of what the European Union is about. We need to learn from the example of the European Union in working together in a spirit of inclusion, respecting and embracing our differences and diversity to create a better future for everybody on our own island as well. It was encouraging to hear the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, reference the recent Eurobarometer survey in his opening statement, particularly that 91% of Irish people look upon our EU membership as having been positive for Ireland.

In the area of agriculture and food, our EU membership has been tremendously positive and progressive for Ireland. To date, the Common Agricultural Policy has supported our agricultural sector in numerous ways, such as in the beef industry, agritourism and live exports. The new CAP reform will look to address newer challenges, particularly in the areas of climate action, food preservation and free trade. These are better faced together, with a population of more than450 million, as we approach the likelihood of a global population in the region of 10 billion by 2050. The high global demand for Irish food has been based on our international reputation for high quality, and that is particularly true of our leading agri companies, such as the Kerry Group, Greencore, Tirlán and Dairygold. In the first four months of the current year, we have seen live exports of cattle exceed 100,000, which is significantly higher than any previous year for the equivalent four months. Undoubtedly, and as alluded to during this discussion by a number of Senators, the EU will face challenges in the areas of tariffs and trade, particularly with the Mercosur deal. Again, it is by working together that we will deal with these challenges and manage to overcome them.

Over the five decades since our accession to the EEC in 1973, Ireland has played an important role. I will conclude by congratulating Mairead McGuinness, who became vice president of the European People's Party during the week. That is very important for Ireland in terms of exerting influence at European level.