Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Cork South-Central · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“That is important and the Minister and I share that view, much as we disagree on how it is not right to get rid of the triple lock. We have made that very clear and we think there is scope to deploy on peacekeeping missions elsewhere.”
“As I probably will not get more questions and it is my last contribution before the recess, I wish to take the opportunity to thank the staff of this institution and the Ceann Comhairle's office, who serve us so well.”
“We have all probably been guilty of the offence of going over time at different stages, I am sure. Despite our disagreements in relation to the triple lock, I think the Minister and I agree that peacekeeping missions are important.”
“In the context of the previous question, I submitted another question that was ruled out of order, which is fair enough. I probably did not word my question as precisely as Deputy Gibney worded hers. I record my concern about legal representation in that regard. It is important to say that. This question relates to another welfare issue.”
“The Minister said that she is not pushing anybody to the courts. I am not a doctor and cannot make a clinical decision, but if people suffered negative health outcomes that they believe have a connection to their clinical exposure, and they have never taken a case, how precisely is the Government going to help them?”
“The Minister talks about the need to ensure that Defence Forces personnel have the ability to deploy internationally and are not prevented from participating in rescue missions. I have no problem at all with head No. 7. Actually, most of the legislation is fine. It is just head No.”
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“The second point is in relation to the office of the Ombudsman for Children and ensuring its eyes can reach everywhere - every location and every centre - a child needs it to reach. That includes IPAS centres and other emergency forms of accommodation. This point was in our proposals in relation to immigration. The system needs to work and decisions need to be made efficiently but we have to make sure every person has decent, humane conditions and that includes children in particular.”
“Those children are born the same as any other child but unfortunately the reality is that too often they do not get the support they need. However, if we can get it right in terms of giving them the support they need, the impacts right across all those sectors could be enormous. It is all about early intervention. I will make two final points in relation to this. First, we still seem to have a significant issue with unallocated cases. Too many children who are at risk or who have experienced very difficult circumstances do not have a social worker allocated to their case; certainly no one who can give it the time it requires. That urgently needs to be addressed.”
“Unfortunately, at an organisational level, too many children have been failed - failed catastrophically, in many instances. There is a lack of confidence. That needs to be rebuilt. Some of that, I hope, is in terms of the procedure here. Some of it is organisational and some of it is culture. A lot of these children are some of the most vulnerable in our society. An optimistic view of it is that if we can get this whole area right, the impact it will have on our wider society is enormous. Unfortunately, the sad reality at the minute is that children or adults who have been in care are far more likely to need additional educational support, special educational support, mental health supports and to have needs potentially into the criminal justice system.”
“Beimid ag tacú leis an mBille cé go mbeimid ag iarraidh roinnt leasuithe a dhéanamh chuige. Anything that improves the functioning of our care system is to be welcomed, although it is very likely we will table amendments. I echo the call made by Deputy Kerrane on engaging with guardians ad litem and their representative organisation. They do a crucial job. A decade ago we had a referendum the purpose of which was to put the child's voice at the heart of things. The guardian ad litem is central to that. I echo the point made on Tusla and the confidence in it that has been lost. There are some really committed social workers out there. I would not want their job for the world. It is incredibly challenging. People are exposed to huge amounts of trauma, challenging circumstances and significant workloads.”
“We should continue to offer that political and diplomatic support and where it is required humanitarian and civilian support in practical ways but it must be in a manner consistent with our neutrality.”
“We should not be participating in this mechanism to the extent that it is being used for the purpose of purchasing weaponry. Our contribution, whether in this or any other mechanism, should be solely on the basis of civilian, humanitarian and non-military support. If our amendment is not adopted, we will not be in a position to support this motion. We regret the Government’s failure to make the important distinction between civilian and humanitarian support and weaponry. We recognise Ukraine will continue to require support politically and diplomatically and we are clear where the fault lies and who is the aggressor - it is Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation.”
“We recognise and accept the right and prerogative of individual EU states to enter military alliances as they see fit but the EU is not that, was never meant to be that and has to respect the rights of neutral countries. The mechanism used here, namely, the accelerated procedure, is not intended for a purpose such as this and unfortunately the EU has discarded the usual checks, balances and safeguards that are meant to be part of this process. There is no obstacle to those countries that are not neutral and wish to provide weaponry doing so outside the EU. Irish finances are, via this mechanism, being used to purchase weaponry via this fund. This creates a serious precedent for future conflicts the EU may wish to influence.”
“Recent weeks have seen reports of Ukrainian energy workers collapsing from exhaustion as they work in incredibly challenging circumstances to keep the Ukrainian energy system going to sustain the economy, ensure healthcare continues to function and serve the needs of the Ukrainian people. We have supported and continue to support assistance to Ukraine for civilian, humanitarian and non-military purposes. We recognise the need exists to bolster its civilian infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on energy infrastructure. However, the motion before us is a different proposition. The €90 billion loan is for the most part a loan for military purposes. This is difficult to square with our position as a militarily neutral State. The EU was never meant to be a military alliance.”
“Táimid ag caint go príomha faoin leasú. I speak primarily regarding our amendment to this motion, which sums up our view of this proposition. Almost four years ago Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation engaged in an act of aggression and imperialist expansion against Ukraine and its people. We have since seen appalling atrocities at Bucha, Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol, attacks on civilian infrastructure and the barbaric abduction of children. Sinn Féin and this House have been emphatic in our condemnation. The people have responded commendably in supporting Ukrainian families and through contribution to various charitable causes. The past four years have seen the Ukrainian people suffer many hardships. The situation on the ground remains very severe.”
“To say it is a flawed peace plan is to say the least but even what the US has been talking about goes far beyond that. The space for self-determination for the Palestinian people is narrowing. Ireland needs to take the actions that it can and use what leverage it has, including the occupied territories Bill, to increase pressure. The fundamental basis of that legislation is about respect for international law. I condemn the violence and repression we have seen against protestors in Iran. The reports of thousands of deaths during these protests are absolutely shocking. We express our condemnation of violence, whether against protestors or others, and call on the Iranian Government to respect the rights of protestors to demonstrate for their fundamental rights.”
“A recent piece in The New York Times by Nicholas Kristof stated that Nathanial Raymond's estimation that the number of people killed in six weeks of fighting, amounted to "a pace of killing [that] would be unrivaled since the Rwanda genocide of 1994", adding that "death toll in El Fasher in less than two months may be comparable to that in Gaza [in] two years". In the time I have left, I acknowledge the situation in Palestine. The killings and attacks by settlers on people in the West Bank continues apace. Again, it comes back to international law. If international law is going to be applied selectively, people such as the Palestinians too often are forgotten. I raise the proposed peace plan. The Minister has acknowledged it.”
“Because of the close relations that Ireland and the European Union have with the United Arab Emirates, it is not being called out. This Government will hold the EU Presidency in the next six months. It needs to take every opportunity. In my view, this conflict is going to continue to escalate until the United States and the European Union make it enough of a priority. Both parties to the conflict believe they can win. I know that Ireland, in relative terms, is a small country but this is an appalling scale of slaughter, a humanitarian situation of displacement that needs to be addressed. The Government and Ireland need to take every opportunity it can.”
“There was potentially one of the largest slaughters we have seen in this century in El Fasher. Some estimates are suggesting that maybe as many as 100,000 were killed. It is certainly in the tens of thousands. This is a kind of scale of killing that we have not seen in many years in such a short period. There are 4 million Sudanese refugees in Chad and South Sudan. It is a conflict that has been going on for many years but certainly in this period for the past three years. I am concerned that a bit like other conflicts, Europe and, to some extent, Ireland are not speaking out forcefully enough. They do have leverage. One of the key actors in this is the United Arab Emirates, which is facilitating a flow of large-scale and sophisticated weaponry.”
“I want to again make the point that we extend our solidarity with the people of Ukraine who have stood courageously against a brutal Russian onslaught and criminal invasion by Vladimir Putin. It must be the case that any negotiations regarding the future of Ukraine should have Ukraine at the table. That is the only way that we will see a meaningful, successful and viable peaceful settlement for the people of Ukraine and for humanity. I was really surprised and extremely disappointed that the Minister had 20 minutes to speak but did not use all of it and that not once was the situation in Sudan mentioned. It is the largest humanitarian situation in the world. A total of 33 million people may potentially be in a situation facing deprivation and hunger.”
“The development of this programme needs to begin now so that it is ready to roll out in the event that it is required. The Government also needs to prioritise investment in our infrastructure. The reality is that one of the reasons we are so vulnerable is because of the huge gaps in our infrastructure. Our housing system is in crisis. We do not have a motorway between the second and third largest cities in the State. Public transport is inadequate and our electric grid is so inadequate that we are losing potential investment. Trade wars are bad for everyone but nothing can be taken for granted. In my view, successive Governments have left us uniquely vulnerable. There is an Administration in the United States that has totally departed from the norms of international politics and shaken up its relationships with its allies.”
“The United States, Britain and Europe will always be crucial trading partners for reasons of language, culture and long ad deep relationships but there is a potential to deepen trade with other countries in southeast Asia, emerging markets and other countries that have faced challenges in terms of tariffs such as Canada and Mexico. The Government must prepare and immediately begin preparation for supports for our businesses in the event of tariffs coming into place, whether this resembles some of the supports that took place for Brexit or building on the learnings of it. It needs to be developed. We need to make sure it is easily accessible and widely promoted. This needs to involve education, training support, marketing support and, potentially, grant aid.”
“This has not been helped by reliance on taxation incentives and various taxation loopholes that have in the past allowed some commentators to portray us a tax haven. Successive Governments have failed to build the infrastructure we need to attract and hold on to foreign direct investment without relying on tax incentives. It is evident that the position of the US Government is liable to change at various times and threats may or may not come to pass. Clearly, Europe should not give in to bully-boy tactics. It is high time that Ireland consider more broadly its place in the world's economy. It must find its insurance and mitigate risk. A number of things are required from the Irish Government. The Government must begin a plan for diversifying in terms of markets we trade with, with a view to future trade missions.”
“This is a crucial test of respect for sovereignty. If it is conceded here, then it will become all the weaker elsewhere. Whatever transpires, it does seem that tariffs and trade wars may very much be back on the agenda. I have said it previously, and it underlines all the further something Sinn Féin has been saying for many years, that there is no question but that Ireland is disproportionately vulnerable in the context of an escalating trade war between the United States and the European Union. The fact is that the industrial policy of recent, successive Governments and our failure to develop a strong enough indigenous sector to complement our strong foreign direct investment sector, as well as diversifying in terms of markets and exports, has left us uniquely vulnerable.”
“They cannot be normalised. Threats to impose tariffs against European countries that would thwart his acquisition, and it is very much driven by him and his personal obsession, are scandalous. Trade wars are bad for all, and, of course, if de-escalation is possible, we should grasp the opportunity. It is important to say that this could and should never become appeasement because clearly that will not work. Sovereignty has to be a red line. If the US is successful in these attempts, it will be a further and enormous blow to the concept of sovereignty, already very much undermined by recent actions, not to mention international law. European countries should be prepared to respond with resolve. To be clear, the future of Greenland and its sovereignty must only be decided through the fulfilment of national self-determination by its people.”
“Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited. He spoke about his approach, and, to state the obvious, Ireland is not Canada. The same strategies and perspective do not apply. It is, though, a clear-eyed assessment of the world in which we now live, and we must acknowledge it may not be an aberration. This may not be a pause and we may not return to the phase that existed before. President Trump threatens tariffs on European countries. He is currently in Davos. He is rhetorically tilting at windmills, a bit more like Don Quixote than Donald Trump. I have to say that, before I came into the Chamber, some of the language and rhetoric being used was remarkable and appears to resemble very little of reality. It has to be clear that bully-boy tactics can never be accepted from the United States or any international actors.”
“That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim. That rings very true to me. That is precisely what we talk about when we talk about the impunity with which Israel has prosecuted genocide against Palestine or the manner in which the US has trampled over international law in recent months. The phrase, "Saying the quiet bit out loud", comes to mind. It was also a very interesting contribution on the economic future of countries, whether middle powers or smaller countries such as ours, in a world dominated by two or three major powers, depending on how you see it. Mr. Carney further stated: ... recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak about this issue. I am sure we are sitting here and an interesting or noteworthy speech - I am not sure which it is being called - is happening as we speak but I am unlikely to be the last person to reference Mark Carney's speech at Davos yesterday. It certainly caught the attention and perhaps a certain spirit of the time. Time will tell whether his perspective and strategy will be vindicated. There was much that sounded familiar to me. Much of the speech underlined points that Sinn Féin, among others, has been making for a long time, including the admission that, in truth, international law was more honoured in the breach than in the rule. He stated: We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient.”
“What is proposed here could be a resource for wider community in that part of the inner-city centre, namely the south parish, as opposed to just the school. At present, there are constraints on the ability to provide PE in the school. There is no place for people to have lunch on rainy days. Caithfimid freisin a thógáil san áireamh nach bhfuil go leor soláthair ann don mheánscolaíocht trí mheán na Gaeilge i gcathair Chorcaí. Níl ach trí mheánscoil i gcomparáid le hocht mbunscoil. Níl go leor áiteanna do leanaí ar mian leo dul go dtí an mheánscoil trí mheán na Gaeilge. There is not enough provision for Irish-medium secondary education. Expansion of this school is necessary to try in order to meet some of that growing demand across the city.”
“I have no doubt that the education and training board, which is a very professional and capable organisation, has all of that is lined up. Will the Minister of State bring a couple of things back to the Department. He stated, "The inclusion of a PE hall or general purpose dining hall depends on site feasibility, constraints and input from the local authority and heritage officer." The school and patron have amply demonstrated the fact that what is proposed is viable and can be delivered, either in the basement or on the roof of the building. They have offered potential designs in that regard. This is a piece of community infrastructure. We are talking about bringing people into our cities to live, raise their families and work. The south parish does not have a huge number of community facilities.”
“I appreciate the update. I hoped for a bit more regarding when we might get through the next phase. I appreciate that the Minister of State's Department does not have responsibility in that regard. I would appreciate if he could, on my behalf, bring this matter to the attention of the Minister. I note the presence of my constituency colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, who is also keen to support the school. Perhaps he could use his good offices to contact the Department as well. The school wants to get past this stage. It wants to get to the point of being able to develop all the things that have been outlined in terms of value for money. That is fine; it all makes sense. It is absolutely the case.”
“60,000 young people in Irish-medium schools right across the country and I want to see an ambitious target set to double that." This is a perfect opportunity to expand the school, to create that potential for the school to grow and to give it the modern facilities that it requires. I also make the point that the NCSE has been engaging with the school in relation to greater provision for autism classes and units. The buildings need to provide for that. I am looking for an update in relation to this, and to try to see that we can progress this beyond stage 1, that this can be approved in order that the school can get on with planning a building of the future.”
“Project Ireland 2040 has a commitment to a physical education hall build that ensures that students in all post-primary schools have access to state-of-the-art facilities, particularly in the context of roll-out of physical education as a leaving certificate subject. The hall is vitally important. It is also important in the context of students only having their classrooms to go to. There is no place to congregate. Tá sé tábhachtach chomh maith i bhfianaise thodhchaí na meánscolaíochta trí mheán na Gaeilge. There are eight Irish-medium primary schools in the city council area. This is one of three secondary schools. Clearly there is greater potential and a lack of provision. This is in the context of the then Minister, Joe McHugh, in 2019, stating: "There are ...”
“The school was approved to enter the Department's pipeline for a project under the additional school accommodation scheme. Unfortunately, this has been going on since about 2018. The application is to build a multimedia room, a textiles room, a graphics room, a construction room, a technology preparation room, a science lab, a prep area, one project store, and, crucially, a potential sports hall. That is vitally important. This was submitted in its most recent round for stage 1 review, but that was on 29 July and the school has heard nothing since. That creates a huge difficulty for the school in being able to plan its way forward, and for the patron to plan the way forward and to go ahead. It is important that a hall is part of these proposals.”
“It is a relatively young school. It has been in place for about 33 years now. The location is in St. John's College in the city centre. The buildings are not purpose-built; they are old parts of St. John's College that were provided by the patron, the education and training board. Effectively, the school was never really built. Some extensions were added to existing buildings. One of these buildings is 150 years old. Níl na foirgnimh maith go leor ar chor ar bith. Tá siad róbheag agus níl go leor spáis ann. Tá roinnt de na foirgnimh sách sean. Caithfear athchóiriú a dhéanamh orthu. There is no sports hall, which is a huge constraint for any school. There is not an adequate reception area. The classrooms are not adequate to facilitate the potential growth of the school. It is separated across two separate buildings.”
“This Topical Issue relates to Coláiste Daibhéid and its application under the additional school accommodation scheme. It is important to be open and honest in this place, and I declare an interest. This is where I attended secondary school and it is also where our 14-year-old currently attends in third year. All the same, the issue is substantial and it needs to be addressed because it has been carrying on for far too long. Coláiste Daibhéid is a school of around 200 children at this moment. It has a projected long-term enrolment of 300. It is an ETB school. Cork Education and Training Board is the patron. It is an Irish-medium school. It is one of the few schools left in Cork city centre. Partially because of that, its growth and development is seriously constrained by the lack of development of its current site.”
“There are split shifts too often and outsourcing. As my colleague emphasised, it is more expensive in the end. It does not provide the same standard of care. We need to tackle the issue of increasingly the HSE moving towards outsourcing home care. We have some of the best people working as what was previously known as home helps. They are fantastic and committed people. They are committed to their clients, but they need the support and recognition that they deserve. The HSE has to implement those things that it was previously holding back on. I fully support the actions of the health care assistants and home helps.”
“That is also true of people who are working in care. There is the whole issue that we used to call them home helps. There is huge respect for home helps given the work they do. They are now called healthcare assistants or home support workers. When we talk about them being taken for granted, which is too often the case, they have balloted for industrial action because of their frustrations at trying to get the HSE to implement things that it has already agreed to. That includes being paid for their 15-minute break. Most people who are working in jobs that are paid by the hour are paid for their break. That is what they are expected to be able to do. In many instances, they are not getting the required 11 hours between shifts. That is a breach of the working time Act. When that happens, the HSE is breaking the working time Act.”
“It is vitally important that we do not take carers and care workers for granted. Too often that is the case. Regarding carers themselves, there was an awful lot of talk about that in the general election. What has happened since then has not been anywhere near what was committed to. We are very lucky in this country that we have such a strength in terms of family carers who are willing to offer support out of duty, responsibility and love. The truth of it is that we should not take that for granted. Abolishing the means test for carers is not only the right thing to do, but in recognition of the fact that many people are providing an amount of care that the State could never provide and are getting very little and in many instances nothing for it. We need to redress that. The Government has not moved fast enough.”
“I am not putting all this on the Irish Government by any manner or means but at European level it is not getting the attention it deserves. I ask the Minister of State to comment on that. Literally hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the past couple of years and there are millions of people displaced. It is going on and shows no sign of abating. I ask the Minister of State and the Irish Government to use whatever influence they can at the next Council meeting to try to push it further up the agenda.”
“If we rewind back nine or ten months, an awful lot of people in Ireland, particularly those employed in multinational companies, were very concerned about the threat of tariffs. We have entered into a bit of a frozen situation in that regard. Some headway was made but I would not say the deal that was arrived at was necessarily perfect in every manner or means. The situation as is has already had an impact on certain agrifood sectors, particularly the whiskey industry. The Minister of State might give an update on whether there was any discussion at the Council meeting on whether there is likely to be any shift in the tariffs picture. We cannot take our eye off the ball on that and we also need to look at diversification domestically. During my contribution at the outset I referenced the situation in Sudan.”
“The occupied territories Bill is but one means of that but one crucial way and one in which it can lead the world. If it chooses not to do so, the Government will very much regret that in the years to come.”
“We heard from the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, that the occupied territories Bill would be limited to goods. At least, that is certainly how it was reported. To my mind, what the Government is proposing will create difficulties for it on all sides. If it is looking to address one concern, it is will create more on the other side. It comes back to that point of international law. We are talking about the two-state solution. If the two-state solution is the way forward - it is my view that it should be the way forward - the manner in which the Israeli Government is running away from that, by facilitating settler violence in the West Bank and the proposals it has for Gaza to effectively try to install some kind of viceroyship, is undermining that. The Irish Government has to find ways to exercise its influence.”
“Tens of thousands of people are potentially unaccounted for, with many likely slaughtered in what is ethnically motivated violence that is being fanned by external actors, including the United Arab Emirates in particular, with a flow of very sophisticated weaponry that is not of a small or limited scale, but of a large scale. Ireland and Europe have a strong relationship with that country. It has to begin to use its voice much more firmly, including at European level. This needs to get much closer to the top of the agenda at European level. Ireland must continue to consistently emphasis the need to maintain humanitarian access to alleviate widespread suffering of the civilian population and to provide humanitarian assistance to support communities in Sudan and those displaced in neighbouring countries.”
“Ireland should use its voice to the greatest extent possible to achieve and support an end to the conflict in Ukraine and support its people. I will return briefly to the situation in Sudan, which is truly horrifying. I recognise the Irish Government is one of a number of governments and does not take sole responsibility for the lack of emphasis on a European level on the conflict in Sudan, but we are talking about slaughter on an incredible scale. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of people. It is not even clear where tens of thousands of people even are. The numbers who have left Al Fashir and the numbers who are still in it do not correlate.”
“It is important that the Irish Government stand on the side of international law in respect of that, as it has historically. That is crucial. I want to take the opportunity to reiterate Sinn Féin's solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of Russia's brutal invasion of their country. Four nearly four years now, the courageous people of Ukraine have stood against a brutal Russian onslaught and invasion. We have consistently called for efforts to build a sustainable and just peace. It must be sustainable and just. To ensure that, the Ukrainian people clearly have to be at the table. For too long, efforts have been made to exclude the Ukrainian people from the table and talk over them. Nothing can be decided about Ukraine without Ukraine.”
“Absolutely, yes. I have acknowledged that and I agree with that but we also have to acknowledge that for other jurisdictions, including Ukraine, Greenland, Denmark and all those other countries I referenced, there has been a precedent set. Regardless of whether the Irish Government likes a particular government, it has to acknowledge that a precedent has been set. If it does not speak out in respect of international law in one instance, it will be constrained from doing so in another instance. It clearly has implications for areas about which Ireland is concerned, such as Ukraine. It very obvious that the invader of Ukraine - the Russian Government of the Russian Federation - may seek to manipulate precedent such as this.”
“It did not seem it particularly wanted to say what it thought. Ultimately, I encourage the Irish Government to speak out on behalf of sovereignty and that we have to respect the sovereignty of governments-----”
“John McTernan was head of communications for Tony Blair in that British Government and I note his comments during the course of what has happened. I do not think one has to have a particularly radical opinion to be appalled by what happened to President Maduro. His comment was that, "Most sensible people are sceptical of kidnapping foreign politicians you disagree with", and I think that is entirely right. A lot of this comes back to sovereignty. That is the concern that many countries around the world have at this moment in time. I know it is in the concern of the Mexican Government. I know it is the concern of the Danish Government. It is clearly the concern of the Colombian Government and Cuban Government also. Listening to some of the commentary, it was difficult to know what the Irish Government thought, to be truthful.”
“These attacks were, in many respects, a naked power grab to gain control of commodities. The track record of the United States in attempting to force regime change by violence has been catastrophic for countries and entire regions. This latest intervention risks more death and suffering. It is not the place of western countries to force regime change and these attacks were quite clearly motivated by commodities. This is a naked power grab to gain control of Venezuelan oil. The US has, in effect, said as much. There are clearly many flaws in the Venezuelan Government, with Maduro and subsequently, and its respect for democracy. However, the democratic process needs to be respected by external actors, including the US, and the Venezuelan Government. Ultimately, the issue relates to sovereignty.”
“The most powerful economy in the world - the US - has withdrawn from the agreement altogether. With regard to the US Administration, we have enormous concerns, as I hope the Government does, regarding the intensified threats made by US President Trump towards Greenland. It is illogical and without any sense or reference to any framework. There is a Danish Government and a Greenlandic Government that are entirely open to dialogue, yet the US Government and President Trump seem to have an obsession with and fixation on the US acquiring Greenland for national security priorities. It is seriously alarming and should be seen in the context of a flagrant disregard for international law and sovereignty. That is very evident in the attack on Venezuela and the detention of President Maduro.”
“We have an Administration in the United States that has totally departed from the norms of international politics and shaken up its relationship with its allies. It has caused allies to question whether they have allies. At times, that Administration has attacked the Ukrainian Government and backed a policy in Gaza that is totally unacceptable. We still have the potential for escalating trade wars that could have major implications for Ireland and jobs across all economies. There is a crisis in international development as aid projects across the global south are threatened by massive cuts to aid and other countries have also reduced expenditure. There is the threat of global warming. Several countries have failed to meet their obligations under the Paris agreement.”
“It is very clear that the protest in Isfahan, Tehran and many other cities are significant and represent deep dissatisfaction with the Iranian Government. People have a right to protest and demonstrate and this must be respected. There is no justification for the large-scale repression that is happening. No one should face death or injury for protesting. We express our condemnation of violence, whether against protesters or others, and call on the Iranian Government to respect the rights of protesters to demonstrate and speak out about their entirely legitimate grievances. We are discussing this at a highly uncertain and volatile time. There is conflict in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan, Venezuela and many other places.”
“At a European Council level, it received effectively no attention. Ireland should take it upon itself to ensure at subsequent European Council meetings that the conflict, tragedy and slaughter receives much greater attention than it is receiving at this point in time. I will touch on a number of areas. Unfortunately, it is difficult to touch on all of them in the limited time afforded to me given the state of the world at this point in time. I want to take this opportunity to condemn the severe and desperate violence against protesters in Iran. The reports coming out of Iran are shocking. The latest reports indicate that perhaps more than 2,000 people have been killed in a wave of repression against protesters. This comes on top of Internet blackouts, thousands of arrests and many people injured.”
“These debates on the European Council are a useful opportunity to articulate many issues in the world. Unfortunately, ten minutes would hardly be enough now; 20 minutes would suffice. I want to start by saying how disappointed I am that the European Council spent so little time discussing the biggest conflict in the world at this moment in time, namely, Sudan. It is a conflict that has seen perhaps hundreds of thousands of people killed and millions displaced. Europe and Ireland have close relationships with a country very much encouraging and potentially inflaming the conflict there. It is bitterly disappointing that the biggest conflict and most serious humanitarian situation in the world, a site of immense human suffering, received a fleeting reference in the Taoiseach's statement.”
“Finally, on the transfer to the new model, a lot of workers were very frustrated at how it was handled and felt the consultation was not adequate. However, even allowing for that, there was a missed opportunity in some local authorities. In Cork City Council, 70 water workers were being moved on. Only two of those went to housing in the middle of a housing crisis. That was not anywhere near good enough. It was a huge missed opportunity and a huge waste.”