I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 14, inclusive, together.

I had a bilateral meeting with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, on 10 March at which we discussed plans and priorities for Ireland's EU Presidency, international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine, and bilateral relations, which are excellent. My visit to Madrid was the first in a series of visits to European capitals to meet my counterparts as part of preparations for our EU Presidency. I also visited colleagues in Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Finland and Greece.

In my meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez, we discussed areas where Ireland would work to make progress during our term. I explained our particular focus on competitiveness and we agreed the need to take further action to simplify regulation, deepen the Single Market, embrace the green and digital transitions, widen our trade relations and make energy more affordable for our citizens and enterprises. We also agreed that Europe needed to do more to ensure its future security, including in the context of new cyber and hybrid threats.

We agreed that to achieve its goals, the European Union needed a budget that both protected existing successful policy areas while also providing for new areas of focus, including security and innovation. Advancing negotiations on the multi-annual framework, MFF, budget will be an important task for us in our Presidency and we will work closely with the President of the European Council, António Costa, with a view to securing agreement by the end of the year, if at all possible.

Prime Minister Sánchez and I also agreed the need to make headway on enlargement. We also discussed global issues, including the situation in the Middle East and Ukraine. Spain and Ireland are very like-minded on the Middle East, including in our support for a two-state solution. We both recognised the Palestinian state together in May 2024 and we have worked together in support of suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement in light of egregious breaches of human rights in the Palestinian territories. Prime Minister Sánchez and I discussed the dire situation in Gaza and, indeed, the West Bank, including the urgent need for humanitarian assistance in Gaza and prospects for a meaningful political process that could deliver peace to both the people of Palestine and of Israel. We agreed to continue our work together at European Union level on the issue. Support for Ukraine is a central focus of our Presidency.

Prime Minister Sánchez and I agreed that work to achieve a just and lasting peace should continue, including through the work of the coalition of the willing. This aims to ensure that when peace comes, there are robust security guarantees in place to protect Ukraine in the future.

We reflected on the strong bilateral relationship between Ireland and Spain, built on strong historical links as well as a close cultural affinity. We discussed how we could work together to further strengthen these links, including in areas such as trade, investment, energy, education, research and culture.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

We agreed to develop a joint action plan in this regard.

As Deputies will be aware, our Presidency began on 1 July, with a ceremony in Dublin Castle that day marking the occasion, attended by Presidents Costa and Zelenskyy. On 2 and 3 July, members of the Government met with their counterparts from the European Commission in Cork where we exchanged notes on the important issues we will work on together. On 7 July I presented Ireland’s Presidency priorities to the European Parliament. In our engagements to date, it is clear that colleagues have placed their trust in the Irish Presidency and want to see it succeed. For our part, we have been clear that we will do our utmost to advance the Union’s agenda between now and the end of the year.

Based on the number of Deputies present, I propose one minute each and that will give the Taoiseach time to answer.

The relationship between Ireland and Spain is hugely important with €15 billion in total in trade, including €10 billion in goods and services from Ireland to Spain, a country that is in the European Union and has shared our values, culture and history. It was a hugely important meeting and is a hugely important relationship. I ask the Taoiseach to comment in particular on the memorandum of understanding in relation to the electricity interconnector, which will help our energy security and improve our access to a broader supply of renewable energy.

While yesterday was Bastille Day, I think in the soccer it was certainly Spain's day.

I should have congratulated them.

It was an excellent evening in the French Embassy last night, particularly with Michel Barnier, the Taoiseach and the ambassador. Notwithstanding that, further to the Taoiseach's meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez, it is exciting that there will be an Ireland-Spain joint action plan. When does the Taoiseach plan on finalising this? I know he mentioned that it will include trade, investment and education. When can we start acting on an action plan?

I congratulate the Spanish on their victory last night at the World Cup.

I welcome the Taoiseach's report. In Spain the price per MW hour for electricity is €14 and in Ireland it is nearly ten times higher, at €130. Pedro Sánchez has been more vociferous in his criticism of inaction against Israel than this Government has been. He passed an occupied territories Bill before Ireland did so, including a ban on advertisement of services. He has denied the US access to Spanish territory for operations in the Persian Gulf. My question is simple. What could the Taoiseach learn from the Spanish Premier and from left wing politics?

I welcome the Taoiseach's engagement over recent months with his counterparts in relation to Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. I am glad that he discussed with the Spanish Prime Minister the multi-annual financial framework. Within that multi-annual financial framework, the proposal by the European Commission in respect of CAP is totally inadequate. We have to have a properly funded CAP. In my experience, the Spaniards were always good supporters of the Common Agricultural Policy and having it properly funded. The Common Agricultural Policy was the first common policy of the European Union. By and large it has been very successful. Its aim has been to ensure a secure supply of safe food for the citizens of Europe. There are many challenges for our farming sector, for our food sector and also for our rural communities, and there will be huge challenges ahead as well. Under no circumstances can Ireland tolerate or countenance a reduction in CAP funding. It is very important that the Taoiseach enrol the support of all like-minded Heads of Government in relation to the need to ensure that we have a properly and adequately funded CAP post 2027 which is critical for our country.

More than 1,000 people died in Spain due to heat-related causes in June of this year alone. By early July, Spain had 14 major forest fires and 50,000 ha of land had been burned. Across Europe, more than 10,000 excess deaths associated with the recent heatwave were recorded in a single week. These warnings have to be taken seriously. I am really worried that, rather than using his time at the helm of the EU over the next six months to bring Europe together and really fight against climate and nature breakdown, it would appear that the Taoiseach is either going to ignore the issue or indeed to row back on climate action and sustainability measures. Can he not see the shortsightedness in that?

The Taoiseach is right that the bilateral relationship between Ireland and Spain is very important, as is our partnership in the EU. Following on from that point, my sister lives in Seville and every summer she travels back. She takes the ferry from Bilbao to Rosslare with my two young nieces. The challenge is because of heat. It is becoming increasingly difficult to live in parts of Spain where temperatures regularly exceed 40°C during the summer months. I fully expect that more tourists will come to Ireland to escape continental heat. While it is very pleasant here, the impact of climate change has to remain at the top of the EU's agenda. I would like the Taoiseach's assurances that that will be the case.

I raise the case of Fergie Chambers, an American activist and heir to the Cox family fortune, who has spent millions of euro supporting progressive causes, in particular assisting Palestinian people. On Friday, he was arrested in Ibiza on foot of an extradition request from US authorities. According to the indictment, he has been charged with international money-laundering, riot and conspiracy to riot. It alleges that he transferred approximately €7.5 million out of the country in order to seek opportunities to provide material support to Hamas. In reality this is money spent on humanitarian projects. It is an example of the long reach of the US Administration and an attempt to crack down on any pro-Palestinian solidarity, for which he potentially faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Will the Taoiseach call on the Spanish authorities to stand up to Trump and refuse to extradite Fergie Chambers?

Anois sa choiste fuinnimh táimid ag caint faoi plug-in solar. In 2024 there was a consultation done by the Department in which Bord Gáis Energy said that plug-in solar systems should be mounted on roofs where possible and hardwired into a dedicated circuit. The whole reason for plug-in solar is for people living in apartments who do not have access to rooftops to be able to install a system that costs €500 and has a payback period of two years. If there was a Government grant, it could be less. When a semi-State company gives a submission to a consultation process, does the Department send back a reply if it is misleading the Department, as Bord Gáis Energy did in the 2024 consultation?

It has been quite a good week for Pedro Sánchez and Spain. Regarding his interactions with the Spanish Prime Minister and others, the Taoiseach mentioned discussions on the EU-Israel Association Agreement. I think we can all agree that the European Union has been disgraceful in facilitating this beneficial deal for Israel at a time when it is engaged in increased illegal settlements, ensuring there is no possibility of a two-state solution. That is before dealing with the genocidal mania over the last number of years. Do we see this as viable? Has there has been enough interaction, enough of a lobby across Europe, to see movement from those that have given far too much support to the Israelis in recent time? I ask the Taoiseach to give an update on that.

I thank all the Deputies for their comments. At the outset, I congratulate Spain on an emphatic win last evening against France, our nearest neighbour in the European Union. I attended the French Embassy last evening and wished them the best. Thankfully there was not a Spanish function afterwards but they did spectacularly well and we eagerly look forward to the final.

Deputy Daly raised the issue of the memorandum of understanding on the electricity interconnector. In my discussions with Prime Minister Sánchez, we discussed this. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, earlier had discussions with his counterpart. The first interconnector between France and Ireland should land next year and that will be a significant factor in helping our energy situation. Ultimately, given the very strong penetration of renewables in Spain, it makes sense that we would have a connection there. It will cost a lot and there is a lot of work to be done in teasing it out.

Part of our European Presidency is to get approval for the European grids package that has been approved by the Commission. Interconnection across the European Union is absolutely key in reducing dependency on fossil fuels and avoiding the kinds of crises that we have repeatedly seen if there is a war in a given part of the world which then leads to massive inflationary pressures as well as security-of-supply issues.

This is something we are taking seriously and we want to progress with Spain. The Deputy is correct that the economic relationship is very strong and Spain is growing economically as well.

In response to Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil, the joint action plan will be comprehensive, covering all aspects of our bilateral relations, including trade, energy, cultural and people-to-people relationships. We have an extraordinary historic relationship with Spain, particularly because back in earlier centuries we were Catholic countries and Spain came to our assistance when our neighbours invaded and put their governments in charge, etc. When I was there last, I was struck by the tip of the iceberg that we can explore in terms of that cultural and historic relationship. There is a lot more we can mine in respect of that, and particularly archives and so on that we could access and enable people in Ireland to access more generally. The action plan will be very comprehensive and similar to ones that we have with other countries.

I think Deputy Hayes was being a bit petty, if that is the word I am looking for, in what he said about Spain. Well, using the word "petty" might be a bit uncharitable today. It is more a Spain is more vociferous than us kind of thing. We have worked very well together on the Middle East. It is a very serious issue. I have worked well with Pedro Sánchez. He is a very constructive leader and he is a strong leader at the European Union table as well. He does not pull back from advancing his views across the board. Spain has military bases that the US has used; not in this war but the one prior to it. We have to bear that in mind. Spain is a member of NATO. We are not members of NATO, and I do not think anyone is asking that we would follow Spain or learn lessons from Spain in that regard. I do not think that is what Deputy Hayes meant.

Certainly not.

Exactly, but we can always learn. I am always open to learning. Every day is a new day.

On the electricity charge, the issue there was the preponderance of renewables in Spain and on the Iberian Peninsula which they did during the Covid crisis because they felt gas was completely distorting their price, given the fact that they were overwhelmingly renewable. They got a carve-out from gas being the determinant price-maker in their situation. They have had challenges with renewables in terms of the grid overall. The Deputy will recall the major outage recently, or some time back, for which there was never a full explanation, but it is important to bear it in mind. We will continue to work with Spain on the Middle East in particular, particularly now in Lebanon when it looks like UNIFIL will expire and that will create serious issues for south Lebanon. We will not be in a position to replenish that unless there are changes to the triple lock. We will not be in a position to send any troops, any CSDP mission from the European Union, for example, which could be used to support the Lebanese armed forces in terms of training and so on, or to keep a monitoring role in south Lebanon. There are discussions under way by other member states in respect of that at the moment.

Regarding Deputy Brendan Smith's question, absolutely there are issues. In our discussions we are the honest broker now, but in all those meetings I have had I would say there is a preponderance of view wanting retention and strengthening of CAP, and also cohesion. A lot of the countries on the eastern flank in particular are strong on cohesion, but they also want defence now in, or protection of the eastern flank because they feel their situation is existential in respect of Russia. In the Baltics, in particular, and Poland and also obviously some of the Nordics, they genuinely believe Russia is coming for them next. The problem will be to try to get agreement on a budget. It is like endeavouring to reconcile the irreconcilable. Even though we are net contributors we are not looking for a cut in the overall budget because we believe Europe has to be ambitious in terms of making sure we can grow our economy, making sure we can avail of the digital transformation of AI and making sure we can do the decarbonisation of European economy and society. That will cost. That will need investment. Some countries want to cut the overall budget. Some want to increase. Some want to reduce the competitiveness funds and try to get more for CAP and cohesion. A lot of people support CAP and cohesion. The challenge at the moment is there is more demand for a limited budget. Our view is that, overall, the European Union budget is about 1% of European GDP. It is not a huge sum in the overall context of output within the European Union. Europe has a lot of ambitions and different member states have a lot of ambitions, but you have to have a budget to realise those ambitions. A lot of people have spoken favourably about the Common Agricultural Policy being a key part of our security architecture in terms of food security for Europe. That came across strongly from quite a number of member states. We have to factor in food security. It was very interesting in the early stages of the Ukraine war, with the whole issue about grain and the Black Sea grain initiative, there was a real fear that would have repercussions across Africa - sub-Saharan Africa in particular - and could cause famine in those locations.

There are five more questions from Deputies.

Food security is very important.

I know that, and I am very hungry.

I did not realise there were five more.

In response to Deputy Whitmore, there will be no retreating or withdrawal from climate change during our Presidency. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is very committed to this. He will be taking a leadership role in respect of Europe's presentation at COP. There have been different perspectives across the European Union. People in some member states want to reform and revise the EU ETS, for example. However, the evidence is overwhelming, as the Deputy very articulately narrated, in terms of what is happening in Spain. It is quite shocking in terms of the number of people dying because of excess heat, the forest fires, the hectares of land burned - all of which, by the way, is having a compounding effect on climate. These are not without consequence in terms of climate.

Deputy Malcolm Byrne was at one with Deputy Whitmore. He said we can enjoy the weather here but it is in Ireland now. The levels of heat we are experiencing are unprecedented. We are breaking heat records in Ireland. We had a terrible fire in Crosshaven in my own constituency on Monday evening. We have to be very vigilant. We need to invest more in adaptation because climate change is here. It is happening. It is having real-life impacts as we speak, and we do have to deal with that. Deputy Byrne illustrated this when he related how his sister leaves Seville in the summer to get out of the heat. It is extremely difficult. We are not retreating from it in terms of the European Presidency. It will be top of the agenda.

In response to Deputy Paul Murphy, I am not familiar with the specific case of Fergie Chambers. We do know the Spanish authorities are resilient. I have no doubt the Spanish Government will take a fair and honourable approach to the case the Deputy has raised. I am not familiar with the background to it, if I am honest, so therefore I cannot comment in any great detail on it.

Deputy Heneghan referred to plug-in solar. He is plugged in himself on that issue; there is no doubt about that.

Most of the time.

He has raised it with great consistency. I have raised it with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, who keeps telling me the Department is on the case. There are some issues in respect of making sure of safety and so on in houses. I will check that with Bord Gáis. The Deputy was saying it was misleading. I do not think Bord Gáis would deliberate mislead but I will point out the point he has made to it.

On Deputy Ó Murchú's question on the Middle East, I think I dealt with this earlier. It is difficult to get unanimity. It is difficult to get agreement even in qualified majority voting, QMV, on this, but we are working on the occupied territories. We would like to see, at Foreign Affairs Council level, an agreement, or a majority at least, to vote in favour of banning trade with the occupied territories as a significant signal to Israel. The economic impact of this is not huge but at least it sends a signal in terms of European member states being very annoyed, frustrated and angry at what is going on in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.