Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-23 ============================================================ Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel I echo what other Senators have said. Regardless of some political differences, we are well represented in Europe. I am a Labour Party Senator and we are very proud of our MEP and my colleague Aodhán Ó Ríordáin and the work he is doing to progress a progressive agenda within Europe. Aodhán mentioned housing and he is on the housing committee in the European Parliament. What does he think the Government needs to do to access more resources for housing? How can it work better with Europe on this? I am seeing figures in Cork, where I am based, showing we have nearly 300 children homeless between counties Cork and Kerry but this is obviously a national issue. Another issue mentioned was the safe injection facility in Dublin, which has been a great success. This is something other cities, particularly Cork city, are looking to implement as well. Do the MEPs have any advice on how that should be progressed? What barriers might exist? I watched with great interest the petition that was presented to the European Parliament in relation to assessment of need. I commend the parents who brought that position, particularly Councillor Ali Field. What now needs to happen with that? How can Europe put pressure on our Government to remedy that issue and those waiting lists that are in place? Another issue that most of us have mentioned is artificial intelligence and workers' rights. How can we safeguard workers' rights here in terms of AI? I am on the Oireachtas artificial intelligence committee and this is a big topic of discussion over the coming months in relation to safeguarding workers' rights with advances in technology. What are MEPs in Europe doing to safeguard their rights? Europe, as a whole, did not respond strongly enough to the genocide in Palestine and in Gaza. It was also slow to respond. It would have been better to see a more collective approach from the outset. I am very proud of our MEPs who have spoken out on that issue. It is very important we continue to do so and to show our support to other countries experiencing war. I know Ukraine has been mentioned specifically. --- 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/2026-09-23/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:49+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-09-23