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Irlandzka prezydencja w UE na The Ring: jak prowadzić Europę?
W tym wydaniu „The Ring”, cotygodniowego programu debat Euronews, jedziemy do Irlandii, która właśnie objęła prezydencję w Radzie UE, by zapytać polityków, co spędza im sen z powiek.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/07/23/irlandzka-prezydencja-w-ue-na-the-ring-jak-prowadzic-europe
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
W tym wydaniu „The Ring”, cotygodniowego programu debat Euronews, jedziemy do Irlandii, która właśnie objęła prezydencję w Radzie UE, by zapytać polityków, co spędza im sen z powiek.
CZYTAJ WIĘCEJ : http://pl.euronews.com/2026/07/23/irlandzka-prezydencja-w-ue-na-the-ring-jak-prowadzic-europe
Zasubskrybuj nasz kanał.Euronews jest dostępny na Dailymotion w 12 językach
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NewsTranscript
00:00Dzień dobry.
00:38Dzień dobry.
00:43An EU member since 1973, Ireland is now in the spotlight as it takes on the presidency of the Council
00:49of the EU for the next six months.
00:53With an ongoing war in Ukraine, pressure to finalize the EU's long term budget
00:57and growing demands for greater technological and energy independence, how will Ireland succeed?
01:05Ireland has built a thriving economic model around attracting major US tech companies.
01:10But now it will have to help steer discussions on European digital sovereignty and on reducing strategic dependencies.
01:17Europe is also under pressure to strengthen its defense capabilities.
01:22But Ireland's military neutrality and decision not to join NATO could make this one of the most sensitive issues of
01:28its presidency.
01:31Can a small country like Ireland make a big impact?
01:34And can it turn six months in the spotlight into lasting influence?
01:41Some of the questions we have for our contenders, let's meet them.
01:47Neil Richmond, Ireland's Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora.
01:52He represents the central-right Fine Gael, a member of the European People's Party.
01:56One of his party's most outspoken pro-European voices, he built his reputation on Brexit and EU affairs.
02:02He is firmly pro-business and pro-European and has repeatedly challenged Ireland's long-standing policy of military neutrality,
02:09once describing it as morally degenerate in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine.
02:15Rose Conway Walsh
02:17A far-lift Sinn Féin Doyle deputy representing the Mayo constituency, a prominent advocate for increased public spending and regional
02:24development.
02:25She is a supporter of Irish unity and a vocal critic of what she sees as years of underinvestment.
02:30She has also challenged the government by arguing that Ireland must strike a balance between protecting strategic industries and jobs
02:37while remaining firm in its international commitments.
02:41Neil Richmond and Rose Conway Walsh, welcome to the ring.
02:45Thank you.
02:45So, as you can see, Ireland is in the spotlight.
02:49Will this be a chance for the country to shine, or is it just really keeping the show on the
02:52road, Neil?
02:54Hopefully it is an opportunity to show off the best of Ireland, but there's a lot of work to be
02:57done.
02:58And making sure that we get through this six-month period as the honest broker, progressing the European agenda, is
03:03really important.
03:04Your view on that?
03:05I think it's really important for us to have the EU presidency.
03:08It only comes around every 13 years or so.
03:11So this is a real opportunity for us to show what the real values of the Irish nation are, and
03:16I think peace has to be central to that.
03:19But also equality. We're very conscious of so many people being left behind in the EU.
03:23We want to make this EU very relevant for the EU population as a whole.
03:28What would be a successful presidency? Should it be focusing on EU enlargement, the budget? What do you think?
03:34I think there's two really big issues. Firstly, it is the budget. It is the key part of the negotiating
03:39of the multi-annual financial framework where we need to get that level of compromise, that level of agreement.
03:44It's vital. But secondly, there's an ongoing legislative push that Ireland has been behind in terms of the Omnidus package
03:50on simplification.
03:51We've heard what Lefa has said. We've heard what Draghi has said.
03:54Now we actually have the legislative tools to push them along.
03:57If we get those two big achievements moved along by December, I'll be very happy.
04:01And you mentioned Mario Draghi. He's, of course, meeting Ursula von der Leyen this week for talks.
04:04But let's go back to the launch of the presidency, which took place earlier this month, of course, with President
04:09Zelensky of Ukraine.
04:10He was here. We've also seen the EU foreign chief, Kaya Callas, come into town as well.
04:15But slightly coinciding with the launch of the presidency, Rose Conway Walsh, was the whole Organic Illumina scandal or investigation,
04:23if you like, a refinery in Limerick that was allegedly helping to fuel Putin's war in Ukraine.
04:29Now, there is an investigation that's come out by auditors saying that sanctions have not been breached here.
04:35But has this been embarrassing for Ireland?
04:37No, I don't think so. I think we're we're waiting for the report to come out.
04:42Whatever that report says, I think it's very important that the Irish government respond to that.
04:46But there's also a role for the EU to play in it.
04:49It is important that that obviously companies here that we have an ecosystem that upholds international law and human rights.
04:58And at the same time, it's very important that those jobs are protected.
05:01We're talking about 2000 jobs direct and indirect in an area that has been neglected for so long.
05:07So I think it's important that the government get in there, that the EU get in there to support those
05:11jobs, to assure that to that the markets are diversified.
05:16Because aluminium is such a such a product that's in such demand across the EU.
05:22It shouldn't be going to Russia.
05:24So the plant will stay open for now?
05:26Absolutely. Let's be quite clear. Illumina isn't a sanctioned project.
05:29And all through the 21 EU sanctions package against Russia, Ireland has backed every single package.
05:35We've never looked for an exemption. We've never argued against it.
05:38And indeed, David O'Sullivan, former Commissioner and Secretary General, has repeatedly said that Ireland is one of the best member
05:43states in terms of actually applying the sanctions.
05:46So we work with commission partners. We have a very detailed investigation.
05:50Very serious charges were made against where the products are going.
05:53There is a lot of confusion about that.
05:55And this Limerick refinery is front page of all the European papers?
05:59Ununderstandably so. And throughout Russia's horrible war in Ukraine, we've been quite clear that we can have nothing that is
06:06helping Russia in their effort.
06:07That's why we've been to the fore in terms of coming down against the Russian shadow fleet.
06:10Why we've pushed so hard in relation to energy capping.
06:13And why we have worked consistently within the Council, as well as across the European Parliament, to make sure that
06:19we back sanctions, that we back supports, and we challenge the likes of the former Hungarian regime under Viktor Orban.
06:25Well, of course, it's a different EU now since Peter Meyer has come into power.
06:29But of course, you mentioned the war in Ukraine. What about defence?
06:32There was a new report out this week by the European Defence Agency saying that Ireland is spending the least
06:37in the whole of the European Union on defence, just 0.2 of its GDP.
06:42Is that OK, do you think?
06:43Well, defence spending has been increased in Ireland, and I welcome that because there have been years, if not decades,
06:49of neglect in the whole area of defence.
06:52I'm glad to see that being addressed now.
06:53So how much are we spending?
06:53But it's up to 5% is what the EU want. But I think we need to be very careful.
07:00We are not going down the path of a European army or of the militarisation.
07:05Defence is a member state obligation, and it's a member state competency.
07:11Should Ireland join NATO, do you think?
07:13No, I don't. No, I think our defence is sovereign. And I think we are a military neutral country.
07:18And I think we need to be assured in everything that we do that we remain military neutral. That is
07:24the wish of the Irish people.
07:25But will it not get awkward now during the presidency? Because, of course, the big conversation today in Brussels is
07:30rearming Europe, getting ready by 2030, pumping billions into defence.
07:35And whereas Ireland, it's the lowest spender in the bloc.
07:37And that's why it's important we talk about facts domestically as well as on a European level.
07:41The EU doesn't want member states to get to 5% defence spending. That's NATO rose.
07:44Secondly, there's no plan for an EU army. That's a concept that is regularly put out by your political party.
07:49That's not on the blocks. What the Irish government has said consistently.
07:51We are commissioned on defence. We are going to double our defence spending.
07:55It will be up to €3 billion a year in the next year or two.
07:58For when?
07:59In the next two years. We've installed new drone defence technology, new radar technologies.
08:04We know that the situation in Europe at the moment where there is literally a war on our borders
08:08and there's levels of hybrid terrorism that couldn't have been counted 10 years ago.
08:13This is the question. Who would protect the Irish if there was an invasion?
08:15And I'm talking as well a cyber attack, sabotage?
08:18Well, some progress has been made there.
08:20But obviously there will be cooperation with other member states as well and indeed with our nearest neighbour.
08:25But that must be done, but not our military neutrality.
08:29Do you trust on the UK to save Ireland now when they have so much on their hands?
08:31It's not a case of trust in the UK to save Ireland.
08:33I mean, we are increasing, as you said, our own spending in that area in sonar and radar and things
08:38that need to be done.
08:39But obviously, as a small nation, we will never be in a situation where we can be completely stand alone
08:45in terms of our defence.
08:47So I think it's important for member states to work together.
08:50But it's very important. Sovereignty is very important too.
08:54And making our own decisions is very important.
08:56And is there any pressure now on Ireland to join NATO?
08:58There's absolutely no pressure for us to join NATO.
09:01And I think, to be quite frank, it's never a discussion that's actually brought up around defence ministers' tables.
09:05It's more of an obsession here.
09:06We should be able to talk about security and neutrality without drifting into the space of NATO.
09:11What is really, really clear is that Europe wants to increase levels of cooperation on security and defence
09:16and increase the levels of spending.
09:17Ireland wants to be part of that, because the day of invasions isn't what we're worried about.
09:21We had a cyber attack in this jurisdiction only a couple of years ago, took our health system offline.
09:26That came from Russia. We need that investment and cooperation.
09:28And what the people want is Irish neutrality to be enshrined in the constitution.
09:33And I think that is something very important and something that needs to be done to reassure Ireland, Irish people.
09:38There is a lack of trust. There is a lack of trust in government in this area, but there's also
09:43a lack of trust in the EU project as a whole.
09:46Rose, that's completely false.
09:48You can't just say, no, no, you've just presented something that's a faction incorrect.
09:51Please let me finish my sentence.
09:52Okay, but I have to correct a faction incorrect.
09:53Finish your sentence and then we'll bring in Neil Richmond.
09:55There is a creeping militarisation. If you look at the EU spending and the EU funding that we have,
10:00people do not want funding spent on militarisation when so many people are suffering with the cost of living and
10:08going without,
10:09and there's been so much neglect in areas as well.
10:11Would you agree with that? People actually are struggling back home and they don't want to spend on defence?
10:15But people realise that you do need to invest at home.
10:18Even when your grocery bills are tough, you still need to spend on locks on your doors and you still
10:22need to have a house alarm.
10:23Rose is there taking the decision to speak on behalf of the Irish people and said that there's a lack
10:27of trust against the EU.
10:28Whereas every Eurobarometer and European movement support shows that the vast...
10:32In the area of militarisation.
10:32No, I'm sorry, this is really important. No, because in the vast majority of Irish people, not only do they
10:35trust in the EU,
10:36but actually it's an even split between Irish people who want us to increase the level of defence and security,
10:42and also those who don't agree with the policy of military neutrality.
10:45But this is a true thing. Neutrality isn't on the agenda.
10:48We don't need it inserted in the constitution. It's not a constitutional matter.
10:51What are you saying?
10:51Because, repeat, you've just said the Irish people want us to do that.
10:55We have a very consistent policy. That's not under any threat, bar the opinions of the opposition politicians.
10:59Whereas, on a European scale, we're trying to prove to European partners that we're serious about defense and security.
11:03Well, then go to the people and ask them. Ask them in a referendum.
11:06OK, right. The last bill presented before the Dáil.
11:09Would you be able to say that you backed the people of Palestine over Israel under that?
11:14No, because we have to be neutral.
11:15Your virgin neutrality and the one that you talk about without going into the depth
11:19completely removes the ability to work with partners.
11:21We're not neutral. We're in the European Union. We are military neutral.
11:25As you can see, we're just getting warmed up here on The Ring.
11:28Stay with us, because we're ready for the next round here on The Ring.
11:35Well, as you can see, we're getting a bit of a flavour of the debates that go on inside the
11:39Dáil,
11:40the national parliaments, and as well, of course, over in Brussels and Strasbourg,
11:43in the European parliaments.
11:44And now it's time to give our viewers a real glimpse of how you actually put questions to each other.
11:49Rose Conway-Walsh, you can address your first question.
11:50My first question is around simplification, and some of the concerns I have around that.
11:56What outcomes would you expect to have from the simplification agenda?
12:01And would you be concerned about workers' rights, about environmental rights, and human rights, indeed,
12:07with the simplification agenda that's been pushed at EU level?
12:10The simplification agenda is vital. It's vital to ensure the European Union actually keeps pace with the United States and
12:17China,
12:18in terms of creating a more competitive Europe, but also making sure that we have the future jobs and technology
12:23that workers will actually be able to have.
12:24What we have is ten omnidust packages, three of which have gone through the stage, another seven,
12:30at least three of those will be pushed ahead by the Irish presidency that are vital.
12:34I have zero concerns. I was on the EBSCO Council as an Enterprise Minister when we worked with both Leta
12:40and Draghi
12:40to make sure that this agenda is one that does recognise the need to make sure that it is human
12:45-led,
12:46that workers' rights are protected, that our environmental responsibilities are.
12:49But also to make sure that SMEs can actually continue, because repeatedly,
12:54and understandably, and I fully agree with Rose, even though we come from different sides of the political spectrum,
12:58repeatedly you raise the pressures of bureaucracy on small Irish indigenous businesses.
13:02Well, that's why we need to address that at a European level with a simplification package that allows businesses to
13:07be liberated.
13:08That's the administration burden being removed and the red tape being removed, and absolutely I agree with that,
13:13but I am very concerned about the deregulation and the push to deregulate.
13:17We see in this country alone, in the defective concrete blocks,
13:20we're going to end up paying over $9 billion for light regulation in this country,
13:26and I don't want to see, and we need to see proper regulation.
13:30We need to protect our populations from their drive towards greed.
13:34Do you fear it could turn into over-deregulation?
13:37Not at all. I fully agree with Rose.
13:38There is no deregulation agenda there, and we need to knit this in the bud.
13:41This is about a simplification to make sure that when we're talking about environmental reporting,
13:45that a small business in Galway or Mayo or wherever it may be is not filling in the same form
13:49five times,
13:50because it has to do at a European level, domestic level, and then at a regional level.
13:53It's about a simplification agenda to make sure that we can get finance deployed quicker,
13:58to invest in businesses, invest in workers, invest in education.
14:01This agenda is crucial, and if Europe doesn't pursue these omnidust packages,
14:05Europe will fall away and simply be a supply chain into China and America.
14:09That's, of course, the view as well of Mario Draghi, if anyone has read his very lengthy report
14:13about how we could die, quote, a slow agony.
14:16Neil Richmond, your chance now to address your question to Rose. Can we watch?
14:20Rose and I repeatedly say that we stand with Ukraine, but I've struggled to...
14:24How do we say that we stand with Ukraine when Sinn Féin voted against, in the European Parliament and in
14:29the Dáil,
14:29the €90 billion loan package that the EU worked so hard,
14:33managed to get through when the Hungarian regime changed?
14:35Is that standing with Ukraine? Do you really stand with Ukraine?
14:37We absolutely stand very firmly with Ukraine and against the war of aggression from Russia.
14:44The reason why we voted in the way that we did against that was because, again,
14:49it was impacting our military neutrality.
14:52The €20 billion of that that was going towards militarization, we didn't feel that we could support that.
14:58We 100% would support any humanitarian effort for Ukraine.
15:05But there's a difference there, and I would ask at EU level that these be separated so that we would
15:10be enabled to vote for the humanitarian effort without the militarization.
15:17I don't want us to be paying for weapons to be sent to any country.
15:22No, but they are separated. It's the same with the European Peace Facility. It's the same with this €90 billion
15:27loan.
15:27It's the same with all the funding that Ireland has prepared, the over 250 million directly and over 250 collectively,
15:33that goes to support the Ukrainian effort. It is for non-lethal supports.
15:37Radar technology surely is okay, surely mine clearing technology is okay, as well as an underground school in the Donetsk,
15:43as well as providing ambulances and humanitarian equipment.
15:46The thing is, they are separated against.
15:48But when you put that decision to vote against the €90 million package vociferously by your finance spokesman,
15:53and then we see Sinn Féin MEPs in the European Parliament either abstaining or voting against sanctions package,
15:58it's hard to believe that you stand with Ukraine.
15:59Do you think there's an understanding of what they were signing against?
16:01Oh, I certainly do, yes. Our MEPs, Lynne Boylan and Kathleen Funcion, knew exactly what they were doing,
16:07and we worked together with them from here. But we will not. We will vote.
16:12So why do they vote against sanctions packages?
16:13Because we will vote for humanitarian support.
16:16No, no, but I'm talking about sanctions packages now. We will not.
16:18You tied together, you vote against the €90 billion loan assistance, domestically and on a European level.
16:23At the same time, your MEPs, not just from the group of the left, from the Sinn Féin MEPs,
16:27have repeatedly voted against or abstained against their 21 sanctions packages.
16:32How on earth can they do that?
16:34Because sometimes when things are all bundled in together, and you have amendments,
16:38and amendments, so the amendments weren't accepted, or the amendments weren't voted.
16:42But surely...
16:43But we're talking about Ukraine and our stance in Ukraine,
16:46and Sinn Féin as a party stand absolutely firmly with Ukraine.
16:51Should Ukraine join the European Union?
16:54Absolutely, yes. And I think that's one of the things that the Irish presidency can do,
16:58Ukraine and Moldova, in terms of the expansion of the EU.
17:02And that needs to be quickened as quickly as is possible.
17:05Well, we've heard the views from our politicians here.
17:07Now it's time to bring in a new voice.
17:13I'd like to bring in the voice of Andy Burnham, the brand new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
17:18the fifth Prime Minister in just four years.
17:21Speaking earlier this week, he said,
17:23I have a plan, I have a style, it's my style, and that's my mission,
17:28as your new leader, to bring back hope.
17:32What's your view on the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom,
17:35and what it will mean for Ireland-UK relations?
17:38Well, he's won in a long line of Prime Ministers in the last ten years.
17:42I wish him well in the job that he's doing.
17:44I think Britain has very many challenges.
17:47He has lots of challenges to sort out.
17:49But for us as a nation, obviously, we want our Irish independence.
17:52We want to be in charge of our own affairs.
17:54We want to be good neighbours with those beside us.
17:59But we would hope that he will facilitate that,
18:03as was outlined in the Good Friday Agreement.
18:05And Neil Richmond, he's been sworn in on the very week
18:08that the EU and the UK were meant to host their summit,
18:10all about getting closer together.
18:12What will all this mean now, do you think, for Brussels-London relations,
18:16and of course for Ireland?
18:17I think directly in British-Irish relations, this is a good thing.
18:21Relations between the two countries, and indeed relations between Britain
18:23and the European Union are so much better today than they were a number of years ago
18:27under the likes of Liz Truss or Boris Johnson.
18:28I give credit not only to Keir Starmer, but indeed Rishi Shunak for bringing that along.
18:32But from a European point of view, there is an opportunity to get ever closer with Britain.
18:37As much as they are facing very difficult times,
18:39they're still one of the world's largest economies.
18:41They are still a very important economic as well as political partner for all of us in Europe.
18:45So the closer the relations, the better.
18:47Andy Burnham is of Irish descent.
18:49His lineage comes from Louth.
18:50His constituencies in Manchester have a really strong Irish population.
18:54His replacement as mayor of Manchester indeed is from the north.
18:57So it's a really positive move.
18:58But we want to see that relationship grow ever, ever closer.
19:01And perhaps maybe one day we see a British rejoin.
19:04Would you agree with that?
19:05Well, I would like a separation from Britain.
19:07Never mind us joining closer together.
19:09But there are things that we need to tackle together as two islands.
19:12And is that separation feasible?
19:13Just back to that debate on United Ireland.
19:15Yes, absolutely it is.
19:17I mean, we've seen even in the last week Neil's own government or party leader bring it on the whole
19:25business.
19:25I think it is.
19:26We believe that it's possible by 2030.
19:28We're coming up to the 28th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
19:32And I know there's an inter-parliamentary conference as well that will look at the peace agreement that we have
19:38here.
19:38I think the EU member states have a lot to learn from our peace agreement.
19:42It is the international legally binding agreement, one of the most enduring in the world.
19:47That's a view from Rose Conway-Walsh.
19:48But now it's time to take a very short break here on The Ring.
19:52Don't go anywhere.
20:01Welcome back to The Ring, Eurie News' weekly debate show.
20:05This week coming to you from Europe House in Dublin.
20:08I'm Maeve McMahon and for this edition I'm joined by Neil Richmond and Rose Conway-Walsh.
20:14And we're zooming in on the fact that Ireland is currently holding the rotating presidency of the Council of the
20:19European Union.
20:20Now we've already heard some views from our politicians.
20:23Now it's time to hear from you.
20:25We took to the streets of the Irish capital to ask people what issues they wanted Ireland to focus on
20:31over the next six months.
20:33And first, if they even knew, the presidency was taking place.
20:37No.
20:38I'm away until the end of the year, yep.
20:40No, I didn't know.
20:41No.
20:42I don't know anything about politics, I'll be honest.
20:44Yes, I did.
20:45I don't think there's issues I can push, but I think it should shine a spotlight onto the issues we
20:48have here in Ireland.
20:49So like the homelessness crisis, for example.
20:51I think that should cause a little bit more pressure on politicians to get it done.
20:54The one thing that is anxiety inducing for me would be the fact that everyone is investing more in militarization.
21:00So disarmament would be key.
21:03Divesting from that and maybe investing more in education.
21:07More support for Palestine, less Israeli products on shelves.
21:12Housing.
21:13Probably housing, 100%.
21:16Rising cost of living and a lot of people are even food insecure, people don't realize that.
21:21Food insecurity has gone way up.
21:23And just support for local businesses and stuff.
21:26A lot of people are closing down.
21:28While we're not in NATO, we kind of avoid and stay out of the firing line for at least the
21:34media.
21:34We've always been a neutral country and we should stay that way.
21:37No, no, I think keep our neutrality for sure.
21:39Yeah, yeah.
21:40So there you go.
21:40A lot of interesting views.
21:41Many not even knowing the presidency is taking place.
21:44Does that surprise you?
21:45Well, if you're living in Dublin, you can't avoid it because of the traffic.
21:48But it doesn't surprise me, no, and I think that's one of the challenges of the presidency
21:52is that, you know, that democratic deficit that's there in terms of education for people
21:57are making it relevant, making the whole EU project relevant in people's everyday lives.
22:03And they outline some of them there like the homelessness, housing, cost of living, all of those things that are
22:09impacting people.
22:10And obviously, Palestine is hugely important here in Ireland as well and support for Palestine.
22:15Your view there?
22:17I think it is a challenge, but it's also a great opportunity.
22:19In 2013, when we lasted the presidency, we launched the Blue Star program in partnership with the European Commission and
22:24Parliament.
22:25And it's on all of us, not just those in the government, to work with the European member states that
22:29have been twinned with our counties.
22:30Dublin's twinned with Greece, so I, the Greek ambassador out of the school, to talk about, well, how this really
22:34matters.
22:34And look, I've been working in European politics for over 20 years. The biggest issue for every EU politician,
22:40whatever the member state or where they're based or what level they're serving at, is showing the population at large
22:44how Europe works for them and how they can influence it.
22:47But as you can see, the disconnect, I mean, is huge between the capital city here and Brussels and what
22:52exactly is going on.
22:53We heard housing mentioned a lot there in that fox pop. What can be done here? And do you think
22:58Brussels can play a role?
22:59Because they're trying to start to play a role here.
23:00I certainly think they can. And I was glad to see at the beginning, at the launch of the presidency,
23:05that there was going to be a housing summit here.
23:07I think it's something that certainly impacts us here. So many people cannot afford a home now, so it's affordability.
23:13But I see there's commonalities across some of the other EU member states as well.
23:18So I think collectively it has to be looked at. If people cannot afford a home, so many children growing
23:24up, homelessness.
23:25What price are we going to pay for that in the future? What price are these children paying for us
23:29now?
23:29I mean, that's the thing. We understand the problem.
23:31To enable more funding, obviously more funding for housing.
23:34But now with the big focus on defence is going to be in the long term budgets, whereas housing, I
23:40mean, won't even get a look in.
23:42Well, actually, this is the first time that we have a housing commissioner.
23:44This is the first time that we have the president of the European Council talking about housing as a European
23:48issue.
23:48It had always been seen as a member state issue. And Rose is right. There isn't an EU member state
23:52that isn't having an issue with housing, just like Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.
23:56We're coming out of the financial crash, followed by Covid, followed by Russia's war in Ukraine, that absolutely repressed the
24:04ability to build homes.
24:05We just don't have enough homes in this country. So that's how we have to work with European partners to
24:09get the finance in place and to make sure that we have regulation to allow the government.
24:13We built 25 percent more homes this year than last year. We want to do more of that again and
24:17find every which way to build more homes.
24:19And of course, the main goals of the presidency are working on competitiveness and values. Does that mean anything, though,
24:27to regular people in the streets of Dublin?
24:29No, one of the values has to be that everybody has a home to live in, has somewhere to live
24:33in.
24:34So I don't think so. But values in terms of the Irish nation, as I said, support for Palestine, the
24:39value of international law, the value of people standing up for people,
24:43the value of people not ignoring a genocide that's happening, that's being played out every day on people's televisions and
24:50all of that.
24:51And yet we are we are so many months now after what was supposed to be a cessation of violence
24:56in Palestine.
24:56And people see that that's not happening. So there's protests in all of the EU events as well taking place.
25:02Is Ireland censoring slightly on that topic? Not at all.
25:04Well, I think anyone in an EU member state capital, and I've sat around foreign affairs council meetings where they've
25:10asked why is Ireland so focused on the plight of the people of Gaza, the West Bank and indeed into
25:14Lebanon.
25:15We were the first member state with Spain who not only recognized Palestine, but consistently have brought the motion to
25:21European Council meeting to spend the EU-Israel Trade Association Agreement.
25:25And Rose rightly talks about values when we hear about the vox pop. This matters to the Irish people, it
25:30matters to the Spanish people.
25:31I'd imagine it matters to every human. But you ask what do values mean to people? What does competitiveness mean?
25:36Competitiveness matters to every single citizen, whether they're buying a cup of coffee, trying to buy a home or hold
25:41down a job.
25:42That's why it has to be one of the three pillars of our presidency.
25:45OK, Neil Richmond and Rose Conway will stay with us as it's now time for our fifth and final round.
25:55So now it's time to do something a little bit different. I'm going to ask you a question and you
26:00can answer with yes or no. Is that doable?
26:03We'll try. We'll try. Come on.
26:05Is the European Union a force of good, Neil Richmond? Yes or no?
26:09Oh, 100% yes. Yes.
26:11Is Ursula von der Leyen a good president of the European Commission? Yes or no?
26:16No. Yes.
26:17Should Ireland join the Schengen area? Yes or no?
26:20No, because of our relationship with the UK. No.
26:23Should Ireland join NATO? No.
26:26Ever? No. No.
26:29Is the future of the European Union bright? Yes or no?
26:33Yes, if it's done properly. Yes, very bright.
26:36And should Ireland defend its low corporate tax model? Yes or no?
26:41Yes. Tax sovereignty is very important. But obviously we have the OECD agreement now with the minimum rate of 15%.
26:47So that's more than one word. But I think that has been settled.
26:54Yes.
26:55Should we be there? Yes, as will the nine other EU member states whose corporate tax rates actually is lower
26:58than ours.
26:59As you can see tricky to fit into a yes or no there. Is Ireland though too dependent on big
27:03tech companies?
27:04No.
27:06Yes, I think we need to invest more in our indigenous companies.
27:09What about the climate? Is Ireland doing enough to reach its climate targets? Yes or no?
27:13No, to be honest.
27:14No.
27:15No.
27:15You both agree on that? You agreed on a couple of things, right?
27:18Don't tell anyone.
27:20Neil Richmond and Rose Conway Walsh, that brings this edition of The Ring coming to you from the Europe House
27:25here in Dublin to a close.
27:27Thank you so much for joining us and thank you for tuning in. Any comments or any issues that you'd
27:33like to address, you can always reach out to us here on The Ring at Euronews.com.
27:37For now, thank you so much for tuning in. Take care and stay with us on Euronews.
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