Post-European Council Meeting: Statements
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-08
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Neale Richmond (FG), Dublin Rathdown

It is the same with every medicine, treatment or equipment used in medical advice. It gets approved on a European basis and then has to be approved. It is just like when we pass legislation at a European level, it has to be transposed into domestic legislation. I take the Deputy's point, however, that it is not quick enough. When other member states are doing it quicker than us, that is something we need to reflect on. It goes to the point more broadly of competitiveness and the interests of the competitiveness agenda in delivering for citizens.
I wish to close on two points in my very brief time. I apologise; I do not perhaps have as much time as I would like to go into them. In relation to the situation in Gaza, the genocide and Ireland's approach at a European level, we were the first member state, along with Spain, to ask for the EU-Israel Association Agreement to be reopened. It is our position that the trade element should be suspended in its entirety. I recall the first time it was brought up only three member states backed us. In May, I attended a European Council meeting where we got that to 19 member states. A sanctions package was produced last September. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has this on the agenda for the Foreign Affairs Council meeting next week and will continue to push this vigorously as we engage, which was discussed in our debate more broadly yesterday evening.
On Deputy Gibney's point on values from her opening iteration and how that reflects her subsequent question, peace is the top value. Peace is a value. Peace defines European values. It is why we repeatedly refer to values in the European Union. It can be everything to do with AI regulation and making sure that it is a human generating aspect. This is a peace project. I am delighted we agree on that. One would argue that if you believe in peace, you have to prepare to pay to defend that peace. The Deputy is right that I do not agree with the Government's position on military neutrality. I would much rather that we were doing other things, but we are not. That is not only because it is the collective Government agreement, but it is the position of my political party, this Dáil and the Irish people. However, supporting the people of Ukraine to build and purchase defensive systems and to clear landmines is compatible with that policy of military neutrality. Making sure we have real spending on security is just common sense, particularly when we are seeking to protect peace.
We are not in an era where Europe is spending more on defence than ever before. Per capita , it is actually much lower than it was in the seventies and eighties.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-08/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-08