Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-27 ============================================================ Pauline Tully (SF), Cultural and Educational Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh na Feisirí Eorpacha go dtí an Seanad inniu. Is deis é seo chun scrúdú a dhéanamh ar na naisc idir Rialtas na hÉireann agus an tAontas Eorpach agus breathnú ar na naisc idir muintir na hÉireann agus an Aontas Eorpach. I will begin my comments by addressing Irish unity. I will start by saying Ireland's Presidency of the European Union is a historic opportunity to focus on Irish unity. It cannot be allowed to be just six months of chairing meetings and putting on a show for Europe. It must be seen as a unique opportunity to be ambitious and bold and to proudly represent Irish interests. It has been ten years since Brexit, when the North of Ireland was dragged out of the EU against its will and it created a democratic deficit that remains unresolved. I would like to hear from each of the MEPs present about how they have engaged on the issue of Irish unity during their time in Europe so far and what they have done to push for the continuation of the PEACEPLUS programme, given that there is a potential funding gap beyond 2027. I know Ms Carberry mentioned it. I wonder whether this gap can be filled to ensure there is continued funding. The EU was born out of a mission for peace and represents itself as a peace project, yet it has been so inconsistent in calling out violations of international law. Mr. Mullooly mentioned how over 72,000 people have been killed in Gaza. There is genocide going on there, not to mention the West Bank, Lebanon and so forth. We saw our own citizens and citizens from other countries last week being treated extremely poorly when they were abducted from international waters, yet the EU is doing nothing about it. This is a breach and a violation of international law. Will the MEPs speak to their own speaking and voting record on this issue? Have they advocated for EU recognition of the State of Palestine? Regarding neutrality, Irish people are very proud of our neutrality. This feels threatened, not only by the talk from Government parties on ending the triple lock, but also by the moves in Europe to increase spending on militarisation. It is more important now than ever before to ensure our neutrality is both protected and respected by an increasingly militarised EU. Everyone agrees that we need to see increased investment in the Defence Forces and that there have been decades of neglect and underinvestment. However, we must not let the Government use this as a smokescreen to undermine our neutrality itself. Last week in Strasbourg, Sinn Féin MEPs highlighted an exhibition that endorsed an EU army. There was a uniformed mannequin dressed as a soldier with an EU flag on the uniform. The exhibition was promoting the use of EU funds for propping up the military industry. What are the MEPs' views, and the views of the groups they are part of, on the increased militarisation of Europe and the increased spending on arms, which could and should be spent on other issues such as housing, food security or environmental issues? There are many other more important issues that money should be spent on. In relation to the next CAP, which Mr. Flanagan mentioned, what is the interpretation of an active farmer and will the MEPs oppose any payment cuts to farmers in receipt of pensions or to farm income? Regarding the nature restoration law, I feel there is a need for a separate fund to implement the law. Farmers do have concerns about it and how it is going to impact their holding, depending on what their neighbouring holding is doing. Funding for nature restoration needs to be independent of CAP funding. Do the MEPs agree with that? --- 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/seanad/2026-05-27/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:00+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-27