Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament
Seanad Éireann — 2026-09-23
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Gerard P. Craughwell (IND), Labour Panel

Ms Doherty showed that, particularly when she was Leader of this House.
The work of Mr. Barry Andrews on defence has been second to none and I find it somewhat disturbing it does not get more prominence in this country. It really is important.
I hate to say this to Mr. Ó Ríordáin that, in speaking about housing we found out yesterday that seven out of every ten 18- to 21-year-olds in this country want to get out of the country and it is down to housing. I see massive amounts of housebuilding around Dublin but somehow or other, the message is not getting through that there is work being done.
The ideal behind the European community was a Single Market, that we would all be in the one market and working together. How do the three MEPs feel about the fact the Department of Defence has ceded all responsibility for procurement to one country, namely France, and somehow or other that every tender that goes out, France wins? Where does that sit in the idea of an open, transparent and free market?
There has been much talk in this country over the past few days about an increase in the defence budget of 43%. There has not been an increase of 43%. Ranging from €1.05 billion in 2022, I think, to €1.49 billion in 2026 is not a 43% increase because we are not taking inflation into account and we are not looking at some of the other parameters that feed into that.
As three of the MEPs representing Ireland, which is notionally a neutral country, in the middle of what is the worst geopolitical situation we have had since the Cold War, are they satisfied this country is actually putting forward its best foot on defence? Are we not just playing with words in this country? I admire Mr. Andrews for speaking out on defence and indeed Ms Doherty. It is not a vote-getter in this country. Yet we depend massively on foreign direct investment, FDI, particularly from the United States. If there was a serious incident in this country, do the MEPs agree that there would be a flight of FDI?

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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