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Parliament resumes after summer recess PDF  | Print |
Monday, 06 September 2010 07:37

Friday, 03 September - It was back-to-school, back-to-Parliament and back to the same big issues this week.
Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, yesterday announced the extension of the deadline for offering unlimited loans to banks to the middle of January.  As I flew back home from Brussels I couldn’t help but wonder where we might be now if it wasn’t for the EU.

And as the Anglo millstone bears ever heavier around our necks it emerged that you can’t go on fooling the market. When concerns were raised about the impact of the  recent downgrade of Ireland’s credit rating by Standard & Poor's, surprise surprise, it wasn’t going to have the impact feared, the markets had already figured out that Anglo was going to cost us more than was being admitted back home.

Who was it who said ‘the truth will set you free but first it will make you miserable?’
The reality is that delaying the truth in this case will not make the problem go away; it will just make it worse!

Coming home it struck me that it is probably much easier for me to get back and forth to Brussels every week, combining work and family responsibilities than it is for my colleague, Olwyn Enright, who has been living between Birr, Dublin and Donegal.

I admire her decision to quit politics because of the difficulties of combining family life with two political careers – hers and that of her husband, Joe McHugh. It can’t have been an easy decision but it’s right for her and her family and I wish her well with it.  She is an able politician whom I’ve worked well with in her constituency, which is also part of my constituency.

It’s interesting that in the same week, another female TD, Liz McManus of Labour, has also decided to quit – for different reasons, but it does make you think about how few women there are in politics.

And if we are serious about attracting more women into politics then more needs to be done about it. I support quotas for women……I didn’t when I was younger but I now realise that unless we actively make space for women they will remain invisible in the corridors of power.

Animal welfare legislation is coming home to roost for egg producers. Earlier in the week the EU Commission said it will press ahead with banning conventional caged eggs from January 1st, 2012. 

Apparently EU consumers don’t want to eat eggs from caged birds, even though across the EU at the moment, half of all eggs are still produced in the conventional (cost effective) system.

It is estimated by the industry that some 30pc of hens will still be in conventional cages by the January 1, 2012 deadline. This would mean a staggering 100 million hens - producing 85 million eggs per day effectively being “illegal”!

A mere 15 months from now there could be 85 million eggs on that day alone that cannot be sold legally in the EU.  The annual figure would be 33 billion eggs!  What will happen to these eggs? Will they be dumped - where and how?  I can just see the justified public outcry if this amount of eggs are destroyed because they cannot be placed on the market.

It also raises the problem of production costs. These higher standards push up the costs of production for egg producers, yet egg product from outside the EU produced by hens crammed into even smaller spaces will come onto the market and compete with the higher cost EU eggs.

This is a real problem when it comes to processed eggs used in the food industry where the origin is unclear to consumers.  We may well end up eating fresh eggs from more welfare friendly systems after 2012, but importing egg product for the food processing/catering sector from less animal welfare-friendly but cheaper production systems, with its impact on the Irish economy and jobs. This anomaly highlights the need for recognition to be given, at global level, to the EU's higher production standards and for protection to be provided to EU producers for meeting those standards.

On Friday afternoon as the sun split the stones I visited the site of an archaeological dig at Annagassan, Co. Louth. The Vikings visited this area many moons ago and the experts are trying to locate the place and extent of their settlement.

It is amazing to see the detailed work of the archaeologists and their painstaking work in digging deep into the earth to find traces of the long distant past.
 
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Friday, 22 January 2010 10:04

There will be a further delay in installing the new EU Commission following the decision by Bulgarian nominee Mrs Rumiana Jeleva to withdraw her candidacy. Mrs Jeleva was almost doomed from the start, although I was surprised that she withdrew at this late stage – the announcement came on Tuesday in Strasbourg.
There was sustained questioning of both her ability to do the job as commissioner for international co-operation, humanitarian aid and crisis response and of her past, including the financial background of her husband. The Bulgarian Government has put forward replacement nominee Kristalina Georgieva, currently a vice-president of the World Bank. She will have to pass the scrutiny of the European Parliament, delaying the vote on the overall Commission from next Tuesday (Jan 26th), which means that the work of this new Commission and our work in the Parliament will remain routine and sluggish.
For personal reasons I had to return to Ireland on Tuesday night. Normally the “Strasbourg week” is a full four days – so it was odd to return early – but it was a case of ff (family first)!
Next week we are back in Brussels for what will be a very busy week, with a number of people from the Constituency coming to present their case to the Parliament’s Petitions Committee.  Of particular concern is the long running case of Dan Brennan’s ailing cattle. The Committee will hear of the findings of the Department of Agriculture report into the farm and try to assist Dan Brennan in bringing closure to the problem.
We will also hear from Peter Downes who is concerned about the safety of horse riding helmets following the tragic death of his son in a riding incident. He believes that the current riding helmet standard does not meet the safety requirements contained in an EU law on Personal Protection Equipment and should be improved.
The Petitions Committee can be really helpful in raising issues which need attention but which are failing to find traction in the member state. It is also a great example of how the EU and the Parliament, in particular, can play a very active role in making things happen which otherwise would not.
Next week we will also be back to committee work in Agriculture and Environment. There is a big debate about medicines control and regulation to prevent fraud. It is staggering that most of the counterfeit/fake medicines are purchased over the internet. People should be warned about this – buying medicines over the net is fraught with danger. If you value your health don’t do it, unless you can be certain of the origin of the products.
Head shops are in the news here in Ireland and I am raising the issue with the EU Commission. Several people – young and not so young – have had really bad experiences with Head Shop products and it would seem that some controls are needed. More about this anon.
 
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Friday, 15 January 2010 15:39

Today is a first Friday for me. A first Friday spent in Brussels, that is. Normally, I return home by Thursday but today we had the three hour hearing of the Commissioner-designate for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos.
All 27 Commissioner-designates must sit before their relevant European Parliament committee and be questioned closely on their portfolio.
Mr Ciolos performed well. He showed a good understanding of agriculture and the food industry, which is no surprise since he is an agricultural economist and a former Minister for Agriculture in Romania.
He stressed his commitment to the CAP and to securing an adequate budget for it; but he also spelled out that the current system of distributing direct payments using the historic reference would not continue after 2013 and that new criteria would be required. He would not be drawn on what these new criteria might be, despite our best efforts to extract those ideas from him.
He talked about new mechanisms to protect farm incomes and of the role of contracts between producers and processors in the milk sector when quotas are abolished.
On supermarket buying power he didn't promise much, saying that the Competition Commissioner has a role here and that perhaps competition rules need to be amended to allow producers join together and negotiate on price.
The Irish Commissioner-designate for Science, Research and Innovation, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn appeared before Parliament and impressed by her ability to communicate clearly and her determination to translate research into innovation and jobs. She spoke of a disconnect between science and society and I believe this is an area she should tackle in her new role, so that the EU leads scientific research and understanding rather than lags behind the rest of the world.
On January 26, the entire Parliament will meet to either vote through or reject the Commission as a whole as proposed by Commission President Barroso.
There are some rumblings from some political groups about some of the nominees - but it's too early to know if any of them will be rejected. My instinct is that with the Commission already several weeks late in formation, due to the difficulties over the Lisbon Treaty, there may not be an appetite for any further delays in getting this new Commission up and running.
The Commission is needed in place in order to kick start the work programme for the coming years
 
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Friday, 11 December 2009 12:51

It is hard to escape from it these days. Climate change is the big ticket item with the Copenhagen Conference in full swing, even if there is little optimism of a legally binding agreement being reached.

There are as many opinions on climate change as there are people, but the polarised extremes in the debate are off-putting. We have those who fear Armageddon if the world does not respond and cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and those who reject the theory of climate change and man's role in it.

I’m inclined to the belief that even if you are a sceptic it’s no bad thing to start looking at how we can use the world's scarce resources more efficiently.

Last week the European Parliament gave the floor to ex-Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney to deliver his meat free Monday message as part of the solution to reducing GHG emissions. Paul is vegetarian, so he comes to the debate with that agenda in mind. He jetted into Brussels from a concert in Hamburg, took a car (hybrid) to the Parliament and jetted out to Berlin for another concert. Sir Paul can afford to worry about the world from a very comfortable place.
 
I was one of the panellists who debated the issue of agriculture, livestock production and climate change. I pointed out that EU agriculture has already reduced emissions and that technology would allow this trend to continue. In any event, meat free Monday is a daft idea for those of us who eat the left-over of Sunday’s roast on Monday. The campaign also has the capacity to alienate farmers, who are under huge income pressures, from the debate about climate change. Beef production in the EU has fallen to such an extent that we now import beef – some produced on cleared forestry lands – which has a negative effect on emissions. So concentrating on one single issue can lead to the wrong conclusions.
 
The positive role of agriculture and land use is often missed in the debate. Permanent pastures and forests are carbon sinks and must be protected. Likewise, livestock production is important for farming families in the developing and developed worlds and meat and livestock products are an important part of a balanced diet.

Indeed the FAO 2006 report on Livestock production called “Livestock’s Long Shadow” is not as conclusive in damning livestock production as some would make out. Yes, it does say that excessive consumption is a problem – but excessive consumption of any food or drink is a problem even if we didn’t have climate change to concern ourselves about.

This week (Dec 7th) the European People’s Party (EPP), of which Fine Gael is a member, gathered in Bonn for our annual study days. These are long days, filled this year with discussion on issues from global warming to economic recovery and other challenges facing the world. We have lots of ideas; it is implementation that's the problem. Another issue which we have is to connect better with people whose lives are impacted by political decisions. That means the EU (and everyone in its structures) needs to start talking in language which we can all understand.

Next week is the last week of the Parliament sitting for 2009. We meet in Strasbourg ahead of the January hearings for the new EU Commissioners designate. I have met a few of the new names in the ring, they are all anxious about the hearings before Parliamentary committees. These can often take an unexpected twist and while there is no talk of any of the 27 Commissioners designate being weak or indeed being targeted by the Parliament – it is not at all clear that every one of them will get through the process and make it to the Commission. For details of the new Commissioners designate you can log onto http://ec.europa.eu/commission_designate_2009-2014/index_en.htm 
 
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Monday, 30 November 2009 08:32

Politics is always unpredictable. I hadn’t big plans for Saturday, but ended up leaving home at 6.30am to travel to Bannagher by car – then Shannon Harbour by tractor and trailer – then by boat to meet people devastated by the floods.
The hardship really has to been seen to be believed.

The Shannon Harbour/Clonfert areas of Offaly and Galway are a disaster. On Saturday it looked very eerie as heavy fog and freezing conditions added to the awfulness of the situation.
It really was upsetting to see lives, homes and belongings ruined by the severe flooding.

We took a boat trip into two houses in Shannon Harbour gutted by flood waters to see the vain attempt by the home owners to save their furniture and belongings from total destruction. The mess created by the floods will take a long time to clear, if and when flood waters recede.

I would be concerned about the actual buildings themselves and whether they would be habitable after the flood waters have receded.

There is also terrible hardship for livestock farmers attempting to feed cattle marooned in sheds surrounded by water.

I have never witnessed anything quite like this and really we cannot forget these people when the flood waters begin to recede.

The people affected are concerned that when the cameras go, so will the public knowledge and support for their situation.

The first priority is for immediate relief, followed by commitments on rehousing/repairing work and plans to address the causes of the floods.

It would be a travesty if those who face into Christmas with everything they own destroyed by flood waters do not get commitments from Government about future measures to address the problem.

I would plead with the Government to listen to the people on the ground, who know the land and the river flows and who told me in no uncertain terms that river maintenance and management is needed.

They also stressed that there are too many bodies with an interest in the River Shannon and as a result decisions about the maintenance of the river are not made with the concerns of the local communities in mind.

This must change. It is undemocratic and unfair that people on the ground are not listened too.

In a meeting with local people, I told them about the EU Solidarity Fund which is available to help member states hit by natural disasters.

Direct damage from the floods must total more than €900 million and Ireland could receive in the region of €25 million.

But even if direct damage is not at this level, it is also possible to access funding, if the majority of a population of a region are hit by serious and lasting effects in living conditions and economic stability.

The Government has a 10 week period in which to submit a claim from the Solidarity Fund and they must get on with it.

Talks are also underway between EU officials and Government about redirecting some of the existing EU Cohesion funding.

About €60 million is earmarked for risk and environment protection, from the total pool of €900 million from 2007-2013.

Existing programme could be modified to spend more on flood defences.
 
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