Post European Council Meeting: Statements Dail Éireann — 2026-04-22 ============================================================ Thomas Byrne (FF), Meath East I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Hungary. A new government has been elected, but it has not actually been appointed by the parliament yet. The party has been elected with a massive vote, but even before that, the outgoing government this morning dropped the veto on the €90 billion loan to Ukraine, and dropped the veto together with Slovakia on the 20th sanctions package. We very much welcome this. The approach that we will have to Hungary is, frankly, one that gives value to the votes of the people of Hungary. It is not that we like all of the policies of the Tisza party or anything like that. However, what the Tisza party stands for is the rule of law, liberal democracy and fundamental values. We can have a political debate within that, left and right, but essentially, what they are standing up for is a free media. It is quite shocking that Mr. Magyar was never on television during the campaign. He did not appear on radio until after he was elected. Frankly, I think a lot of the civil servants, diplomats and media are quite relieved that pressure is off them. They did not fully buy into the Orbán system, but it was forced upon them. From an Irish point of view, we will have a generous approach because a successful Hungary benefits us, and it is a country that should be successful. Irish businesses can benefit from a successful economy in Hungary because we are such an exporting country. Why do we support Ukraine? We support Ukraine for two broad reasons. One is that it is the morally and legally correct thing to do. They were invaded by Russia and they are standing up for their rights, and I think the Irish people saw that very clearly. It is also the economically correct thing to do for us. The threat from Russia, which we have seen actioned in Ukraine, is also a threat to other countries in that region on the eastern flank of the European Union. If anything were to happen to those countries, we would see a really serious economic shock here, and there is no question about that. We also see Russia very active in the information space and the hybrid warfare space, messing around in terms of what it might do with drones to transport links and various interconnectors, whether of information or energy. It is essential that we continue to support Ukraine. While we have been generous with regard to Ukraine, the idea that somehow we are making choices between the Irish people and the people of Ukraine, as a government here, is completely wrong. The narrative that Deputy Nolan put forward in this regard is shameful. She also spoke about the Mercosur agreement. We have accepted that there are issues for beef farmers. That was said all along, and that is why the Government voted against it. The Deputy should also recognise that there are farmers in her constituency in Offaly who supply Tullamore Dew, one of the most important whiskey brands we have. That product is seriously enhanced and protected by the Mercosur agreement, and the Government has acknowledged that. There is a balance that we have taken to oppose it, but it is not totally negative, as she seeks to point out. I compliment Barry Cowen MEP who has been very balanced in his approach and recognises the benefits to the whiskey industry in his county, while also recognising the difficulties for farmers. With regard to the Common Agricultural Policy, which was also raised by Deputy Byrne, it is our strong policy to protect the policy and to have it strong, separate, robust and suitable for farmers. Again, we can come into the Dáil to talk and, as the Opposition has done, to castigate the Government. Recently, the former Deputy, Barry Cowen MEP, and a number of other MEPs came to Mullingar to discuss the negotiations on the CAP and it was a very instructive meeting. My officials in Brussels are available to any MEP who wants to talk about CAP and the negotiations we are in, and I will continue to keep Members informed. Our policy here is to ensure there is a robust CAP that protects rural Ireland and serves the fundamental purposes of the CAP, which is to keep farmers on the land and keep the food supply coming to Europe. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-22