Debate contributions by Kathleen FUNCHION

A Uachtaráin, the housing crisis is the biggest challenge facing a generation of Irish people today. Of course, it's not an accidental crisis when we're talking about it for ten years or more. It's a crisis caused by successive governments' policy, who have prioritised vulture funds over ordinary workers and families. But the solutions to the housing crisis do exist, and I think it's really important that we focus on that in a debate such as this. And the EU has a role to play in relation to this – repeal the non-performing loans directive, which is nothing more than a directive for vulture funds, relax EU fiscal rules so that countries like Ireland can use their own money to invest in housing, and return decision-making powers to local councils. Decisions should be made as near as possible to the people and communities that they affect. It's time that we bin the failed policies that clearly do not work and which only help to maximise the profits of developers. It's time to work towards a genuine and radical housing policy that does deliver for all of our communities.

Mr President, I would like to raise the cost of living crisis. This is a crisis affecting everyone in Europe. What's the cure for this? Putting money in public services such as childcare, healthcare, education and more. Profitability should be avoided. Electricity companies are making huge profits and households are struggling to pay their bills. Mr President, dear colleagues, the question I am often asked about this cost-of-living crisis is: What exactly is the EU doing to address it? The answer? Unfortunately, cutting back vital EU programmes to the benefit of the arms industry, which won't help anyone pay their bills this Christmas. I would also like to raise a particularly heartless decision recently by the Irish Government to cut funding for blister packs. While this seems to be paused due to the public outrage, these packs are for our most vulnerable. It shows that in times of austerity, and when governments opt for austerity, it is the most vulnerable who suffer.

A Uachtaráin, once again, we are talking about sustainability in fishing, and once again, the fish stock is reduced. Struggling fishermen and coastal communities in Ireland are facing more quota cuts that threaten their livelihoods. The Commission is still not doing enough to combat this issue. Norway, for example, have for years been unilaterally increasing their quotas, particularly for mackerel. The Commission have watched on and have done absolutely nothing about this. Now the mackerel stock has plummeted and those who have fished responsibly are paying the price. The matter of overfishing is not just about the destruction of the marine ecosystem and reckless endangerment of target species. It is also about the destruction of coastal communities. I call on the Commission to stop paying lip service and to act now, by whatever means necessary, to punish those who have brought about this situation and to protect the fishing communities in Ireland and throughout Europe. Without radical action, thousands will face this economic and ecological catastrophe. Irish fishing is already facing decimation, and the DG for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries acknowledges the risk of severe overfishing. What more devastation needs to happen before action is finally taken?

A Uachtaráin, in 2016, the people of England and Wales voted to leave the European Union, dragging the north of Ireland along with them. This fundamental alteration to the constitutional status of the north of Ireland took place without the consent of the majority there. That is why it has been crucial that we in this House work to protect the hard‑won Good Friday Agreement and peace on our island. The Good Friday Agreement maps out a peaceful path to the reunification of Ireland, and I support this report's reference and recognition that the constitutional future of Ireland is a matter for the people of Ireland, both north and south. We have seen that successive British Governments are willing to ignore their commitments across a range of areas, while the European Commission has been unwilling to hold British Governments to account. I welcome the reference in this report also to the incompatibility of the British Government's Legacy Act with human rights legislation and the Windsor Framework. We must work towards justice for all victims. We in this House must continue to work together to ensure the British Government fulfil their international obligations in the areas of legacy, human rights, workers' rights and indeed in fulfilling their duties for a referendum on Irish unification.

Mr President, I could not support the report because of her emphasis on military matters. That said, I welcome the debate on the enlargement of the European Union. There is a debate taking place in Ireland about the reunification of our islands and I believe that the European Union must play a greater role in this debate. It is clear to me that in the future we will have a referendum on a United Ireland, and this United Ireland will be within the European Union. Therefore, it is important that the EU says what support will be available to our island as we go from an island to a border with a United Ireland.

Madam President, as the Council meets, its agenda is clear: militarisation, above all else. The lines between NATO and the EU are going from blurred to non-existent. The EU is openly talking about coordinating the armies of Europe. Yet the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, among others, says we can't question this trajectory – asking questions apparently makes us anti-European. I am not anti-European, but I am 100 % pro-Irish neutrality, pro-Irish interests in the world, and our interests do not lie in a militarised Europe, where our social and agricultural funds are stolen to be spent on tanks and drones. Irish neutrality will not go quietly into the night, even if the Irish Government may want this. Irish people do not want this and will resist it! The Council also must not – having been dragged kicking and screaming to the point of proposing the most minor sanctions on Israel – let Israel off the hook. The murder and savagery of the Netanyahu regime continues and must be punished.

A Uachtaráin, I want to raise an issue to highlight a group who are currently sitting outside the Dáil, which is the Irish Parliament, and they're on hunger strike. They're a group of survivors of the Irish horrific industrial school system. This group is calling for individuals of that system to be awarded a Health (Amendment) Act, which is a HAA card, and a State contributory pension in response to what happened to them in their childhood and the consequences of this to their lives. It is the least, the absolute least, the Irish State could offer them. We have a horrific situation in Ireland over the years. Our history is very poor in relation to people being forced into industrial schools, Magdalene laundries and mother and baby institutions. At the same time as these people are standing outside the Dáil on hunger strike, we had a group in Sean Ross Abbey sleeping out; elderly people sleeping out overnight to highlight their issue, asking for that site to be investigated and potentially exhumed. So I am asking the EU Parliament to do everything in its power, and the Irish Government, as well, to do everything in its power, to give the redress that is deserved, to give these Health (Amendment) Act cards, State contributory pensions, and access to records and access to proper redress for any of the survivors of the industrial schools, the Magdalene laundries and the mother and baby institutions.

A Uachtaráin, a chairde, an equal society cannot exist while any woman or girl lives under the threat of gender-based violence. Right now in Ireland, we face an epidemic of violence against women and girls. In the past eight years, reports of domestic abuse have risen by 162 %. While it is great to see women coming forward and finding the courage to speak out, the supports needed are still falling far short. When a woman finally manages to escape abuse, often with her children, we need to ensure that both short-term and longer-term supports are available to her. The Irish Government and all EU Member States must lead with action by investing in our refuge spaces as a short-term support, in housing, in step-down housing and, really importantly, in education and awareness programmes against misogyny and sexism, and by supporting organisations that offer a lifeline for every woman in every community across our Member States. It is time to guarantee long-term funding and real commitment to these services and the workers, to show that we value and stand with those who do life-saving work every single day.

Madam President, firstly, I want to express my solidarity with all those who are involved in the Global Sumud Flotilla, particularly all the Irish citizens and my friend and colleague, Senator Chris Andrews. Many are being released tonight after being kidnapped in international waters last week. The International Community must begin holding the Netanyahu regime to account for their blatant disregard for international and humanitarian law. I wish to raise the importance of the Irish Government doing what they can to ensure that all Irish citizens and their dependents who wish to return to Ireland can do so safely and quickly. And in particular, I want to raise the issue of El-Astal family from Belfast, who, like many others, have had their travel documents damaged in the war and I appeal to the Irish Government to urgently issue the emergency documentation to the El-Astal family to facilitate their return to Ireland. For our part, as MEPs, we must do what we can to ensure that Israel is held to account for their war crimes and we must work towards a sustainable and peaceful future where no citizen of Palestine has to fear a bomb falling from the sky.

Mr President, I voted in favour of this report. In Ireland, there is a housing crisis in our Gaeltacht areas. There is an increase in the amount of accommodation available on Airbnb and a rise in second house holiday homes and there are also problems with obtaining planning permission. As a result of these problems, it is difficult for the people of the Gaeltacht to remain in the Gaeltacht. This is not good enough in 2025 and we need to do more to ensure a bright future for the Gaeltacht and our language.

Madam President, I was happy to contribute positively to a report on simplifying access to EU funds. As many of us know, it is the simple fact that many groups in communities are very frustrated at and by the maze of paperwork drawing down EU funds involves. So in my contribution to this report, I tackled things like streamlining the number of data requests and listening to the people on the ground who were actually applying for funds. However, I cannot support a report which cannot talk about the simplification without pushing for the militarisation of cohesion funds. This should be completely out of bounds politically, yet other groups lined up to accept without any resistance. How can allowing funds for regional development for defence purposes even be countenanced? Changing the rules so that the ESF+ and the ERDF can be put to use for the military industry is a gross betrayal. Growing up in Ireland, we learned the value of EU funds to our economy and to our infrastructure. They were a symbol of practical solidarity for economically lagging regions. Now they are just to be used as another fund for topping up arms and the war-making industry. It is a shameful move, showing how nothing is safe from this agenda but will be an excuse in the future to cut funds from vital social projects in order to pay for weapons.

The first thing I want to say is, I will call out a genocide wherever it happens. Wherever there is a genocide, it will be called out by me. We know very well in Ireland what it's like to be under occupation. So that is why we have such empathy, rightly so, with the Palestinian people. It has already been stated by my colleague, Marc Botenga. All of the various organisations – the International Court of Justice, Amnesty, all of the organisations – the list is as long as your arm – that know that this is a genocide. You are the one that is denying a genocide, and history will not look well on you at all, and rightly so. Shame on you to look at kids starving – enforced starvation – trucks and boats trying to get in with food and aid, and you sit there and you laugh. Shame on you!

Madam President, we are now more than 700 days into Israel's genocide in Gaza, and the response from world leaders, including those here in Europe, continues to be one of shameful, resounding silence. More than 64 000 people murdered was not enough for President von der Leyen to say 'Stop', and it seems that the images of enforced starvation of children is not enough for the Commission and the Council to take real action against Israel. The EU and all Member States must suspend the EU‑Israel Association Agreement, ban trade with illegal settlements and finally work towards the delivery of a two‑state solution where all children can live without hunger and without fear of Israeli bombs falling from the sky. I do want to comment on some of the comments we have heard here today from people in this Chamber who are denying the genocide. I ask, how can you watch children being shredded to pieces by Israeli weapons and do nothing, and deny the genocide? History will not forgive silence. 'Never again' means 'never again for everyone'. Saoirse don Phalaistín!

Mr President, I would like to extend my congratulations to those who support this initiative. The European Union has a lot of talk about diversity, but when it comes to language rights and linguistic diversity, we are very weak. The case in Ireland is that our national language is not widely used due to the impact of imperialism. The European Union and the Irish government do not seem to recognise the special characteristics of these regions, with their own advantages and disadvantages. This initiative has highlighted regions such as our Gaeltacht areas and should be highly commended. Cohesion funding could be a tool to empower our Gaeltacht communities to secure a bright future. I hope that the initiative will help to start a new approach, which supports our Gaeltacht areas and their cultural strengths, and the economic opportunities that exist for them.

A Uachtaráin, it seems Irish insurance holders are stuck in some kind of a rip-off cycle, particularly when it comes to car insurance. In Ireland, we are now paying nearly twice the EU average and it's at the highest it has been in five years. People and families, particularly in rural Ireland, who need cars to get to work, to get to school and basically live their lives, are facing unexplained rises in these costs. In the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, it certainly adds salt to the wound. Unsurprisingly, the Dublin Government seem to have no intention of doing anything – as usual – regarding this. So, I am calling on this Parliament and the EU to take urgent action without delay on behalf of people in Ireland who are being ripped off in the insurance sector, particularly regarding car insurance, as is important that there is fairness for all EU citizens.

A Uachtaráin, whilst I recognise the sovereign right of each Member State to choose their own foreign policies and whether or not they participate in military alliances, such as NATO, I hope each of you too recognises the sovereign right of my country, Ireland, to maintain its historical policy of neutrality. We in Ireland have a proud history and tradition of UN peacekeeping, and long may that continue. Now make no mistake, we do require investment in order to ensure that the men and women of the Irish Defence Forces are properly paid and are properly equipped, but this cannot be used as an excuse by our government to move away from neutrality. Colleagues, I feel it is important to reference the creeping militarisation into EU politics. This debate has been a combination of maddening and depressing for the past two hours, listening to the vast majority of speakers. I would also remind people that, at its core, the EU is supposed to be a peace project, and we should not move away from this. We also should not be allowing any funds or vital programmes, such as the European Social and Cohesion Funds, to be used for any military purposes whatsoever.

Mr. President, although I welcome this report a lot, I could not support it. As an MEP, as I move around South Ireland, I see the need for rural policies and funding for our rural communities. That's why I think it's scandalous that there is an article 39 in this report saying that we should bring military forces into our rural policies. Dear friends, there is enough money and emphasis going towards military matters. Everyone in this house should stand up and ensure that we are protecting funding for our rural communities. Thank you.

A Uachtaráin, when future generations look back on the live-streamed genocide in Gaza, they will not look kindly on the EU institutions. They will not look kindly on the President of the European Commission, who willingly takes phone calls from war criminals. They will not look kindly on this institution, as after nearly two years of war crimes being broadcast onto our television screens and our phones, there has been a failure to impose even the most basic of sanctions against Israel. How much suffering must the people of Gaza endure before action is taken? How many more children must be slaughtered before the President and the Commission ensure that Netanyahu's regime is held to account? This regime is now extending their war to Iran. If the EU is serious about de-escalation and a ceasefire, it needs to send a clear message to the world that there can be no trade deals for war criminals. This is why the EU-Israel Association Agreement must be suspended with immediate effect. This institution must support the people of Palestine ...

Mr President, thank you, Commissioner, for being here. I firstly want to thank Mr Protas and all his team for their cooperation and work, as in many ways this is the report the European Parliament needs. It is ambitious for a well-budgeted and progressive cohesion policy. However, it has a major flaw, which means it fails the litmus test for myself and for my colleagues on the Left. It opens the door to the militarisation of cohesion policy. Let's take a step back and think about what that means. Cohesion policy, the flagship policy of solidarity of the EU, is now on the road, with the Parliament's blessing, to being just another military policy. This is shameful. We are, of course, all aware of the geopolitical realities. But is nothing sacred? Is absolutely everything now just fuel for the fire and drive towards the militarisation agenda of the EU? Our regions, all of them, need investment and need the EU to help protect jobs, develop our environment and support our workers in these very uncertain times. Yet this report, which I acknowledge has many strengths, says that spending on military infrastructure, disguised as so-called dual technology, is as important as investing in our workers or our infrastructure. Let's be clear that each cent diverted into military spending is a cent taken away from my constituency of Ireland South, and all of our regions. The EU cohesion policy that funded roads and funded jobs and funded some of our community childcare facilities in Ireland is now being used to feed the war machine. This is a new low and I call upon all MEPs, especially our Irish MEPs, to reject it.

Mr President, I could not support this report. The report put a strong emphasis on military matters for the European Union and I am not in favour of that. As an Irish Member, we are proud of our historic policy of neutrality. It is not right that the European Union is pushing us in Ireland to move towards a European Army. We have to stop this. That is why we were not able to support this. Thank you.

A Uachtaráin, across the globe, we are witnessing an increasing assault on international humanitarian law and human rights. This must be challenged regardless of where it takes place, and this Parliament must set the highest of standards when it comes to upholding the values of human rights and democracy. For us in Ireland, this Parliament must firmly oppose any rollback on justice for victims of the conflict in the north of our country. The British Government must respect the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, as it is an essential part of our human rights architecture. Given that Britain has signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, we in this Parliament must demand that they abide by rulings of the court. We need a victim-focused approach when it comes to the legacy of our past, so that families can finally have the justice that they are entitled to.

A Uachtaráin, whilst I welcome certain aspects of this report, particularly in recognition of the role of formal and informal carers in society, I ultimately cannot vote in favour. We are not fooled by calls for debt sustainability, which is in reality calls for a return to the failed policies of austerity. The call for sustainable pension systems is nothing more than Eurospeak for increasing the pension age on workers right across our Member States. The report speaks of demographic challenges without identifying the cause of these challenges. We have permitted regional imbalances and inequalities to persist and indeed deepen over the years. The challenges faced by our regions are down to bad policy, which makes education and housing so unaffordable for ordinary workers and families, and the challenges are due to a lack of opportunities. If we are serious about tackling these challenges, let us first recognise what has caused them, which is bad policy. What we need is to promote the social economy which puts workers and families front and centre. We need to lay the groundwork that gives them and their communities certainty and enables everyone to reach their full potential. It is incumbent upon us as legislators to address and improve working and living conditions for all of our citizens, and I suggest that we strive in this Chamber to achieve that in this term.

A Uachtaráin, as a Member from a country that cherishes our neutrality and recognises the benefits it has brought to the world, I want to express my opposition to any backsliding when it comes to the neutrality of Ireland. Our country has a proud history of UN-mandated peacekeeping missions, a tradition that has gone on for decades. Our neutrality has enabled us to maintain an independent foreign policy, and this is a strength that is valued and supported by the Irish people. It is therefore shameful that our Irish Government would try to use this real emergency to end the 'triple lock' policy, which is in place to protect our neutrality. The 'triple lock' is a core component of Ireland's independent foreign policy, and is enshrined in national declarations to the Irish people by governments in advance of a previous EU referendum. So if the Irish Government wants to remove this protection, it should put it to the people and have a referendum on it.

A Uachtaráin, I welcome this debate as we urgently need to address the crises in recruitment and retention in our disability and our health care sectors. In 2024, there was an estimated shortfall of around 1.6 million health and social care workers across the EU. In Ireland, we have the particularly unfair situation of Section 39 workers who work for privately owned charities and agencies that are contracted by the state to provide disability and health care services. Section 39 workers are being paid at an astounding 15 % less than their colleagues in the public sector. This is despite the fact that they do the exact same work. The unfair treatment of Section 39 workers must be addressed. If the Irish Government are serious about tackling the crisis in recruitment and retention, they must immediately deliver pay parity for all, including those Section 39 workers. Finally, colleagues, it is incumbent upon all of us as legislators to deliver equal pay for equal work for all. So let's work towards that endeavour in this Parliament and in our Member States.