20/06/2023 | 17:49:40 Madam President, It is my great honour and privilege to speak on behalf of the Group of the European People's Party in this very important debate. This law is reminiscent of the witch-hunt conducted by Senator Joseph McCarthy in the USA in the 1950s and 60s. It also has echoes of Stalinism. Using the very understandable emotion created by the barbaric Ukraine war and with high inflation raging, the ironically named Law and Order Party, or Law and Justice Party, are seeking to drive from... 20/06/2023 | 16:40:39 And thank you, Madam President. And at the outset, I would like to welcome Ms Sviatlana TSIKHANOUSKAYA to the Assembly today and thank her for her remarks and salute her courage and that of her husband Mr Sergei Tikhanovsky. In Ireland, we claim you as one of our own arising from the months of your formative teenage years you spent with us. We salute your courage and that of Sergei. I also salute the rapporteurs on an excellent report. It is widely reported that more than 1 500 people have... 24/01/2023 | 16:56:04 Thank you, President. On behalf of EPP I want to welcome Senator O'LOUGHLIN's excellent report and indicate our support for the draft recommendations. It is with a natural pride that I acknowledge the pioneering work done on the Fourth Summit during our Irish presidency. And Ireland's continuing input with Iceland and others in ensuring a satisfactory outcome. It is Russia's brutal war of aggression in Ukraine that inspired the Fourth Summit. Therefore the summit must decide on how to ensure... 28/04/2022 | 11:42:12 President, At the outset, could I congratulate my colleague, Mr Aleksander POCIEJ, on his report, on the speed of the report, the contents and the work done on it, and his fine articulation of its main principles this morning. Can I do that at the outset? Can I say that yesterday we had a very fine debate, as I cited by yourself, President, in which we identified issues around sanctions, issues around support, issues around dealing with displaced persons. Today the focus shifts to war crimes... 27/04/2022 | 11:30:11 Thank you Madam President. At the outset, I welcome this report and its contents. To say, first of all, that I, like so many colleagues here, stand in awe of our parliamentary colleagues from Ukraine. They've displayed extraordinary tenacity, extraordinary capacity to cope with huge stress, and to absorb enormous suffering on their own part, and on the part of their people. I certainly stand in awe of them. Not only do we stand in awe of them, but we should and do stand in solidarity with... 26/04/2022 | 16:42:19 Thank you. Thank you very much, President. On behalf of the Group of the European People's Party, may I congratulate Ms Reina de BRUIJN-WEZEMAN, our rapporteur, on an outstanding report and recommendations. The true measure of a civilised society is how it responds to its most vulnerable and challenged citizens. For too long, our response to persons with disability has has been institutionalisation. A throwing away of the keys and grossly inadequate care if not abuse. dWe must... 15/03/2022 | 10:46:39 Thank you, President. Our Council of Europe founded in 1949 was born out of the ashes, barbarity, and nihilism of World War II. It was designed to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. I'm proud that Ireland was one of the first ten signatory countries. Russia has lost the moral, the legal, and the political right to be here. Bombing of residential areas, hospitals, and grossly maternity hospitals, mass civilian casualties, hunger, destitution, and displacement say it all... 24/01/2022 | 17:00:17 Yes, can you hear me, Madam President? Thank you. At the outset, can I congratulate Baroness Doreen E. MASSEY, my good friend, on an outstanding report. Can I also similarly congratulate Ms Jennifer DE TEMMERMAN. I want to thank and congratulate my Irish friends, members of our national youth movement, for your involvement at all stages of the preparation of both these reports. I am naturally particularly proud of ORNA O'BRIAN from Cork, who has properly challenged us today. On the vote on... 28/09/2021 | 17:34:56 Thank you, President, At the outset, on behalf of the EPP, I want to congratulate Ms Nicole TRISSE from France on the original report and Ms Petra BAYR, my good friend, for the Committee's opinion. The EPP supports both the underlying principles here and the balanced nature of the report and we understand, in the EPP, that this cannot be achieved by aspiration alone and that there must be targets and quotas and clear delineation of what has to be done. Gender inequality demeans both men and... 27/09/2021 | 17:13:04 Thank you. Thank you, Madam President, and I am delighted to see that you are in the Chair for this debate. I wanted on the outset to welcome the report. I want to warmly congratulate my colleague, my Irish colleague, on its balance, its objectivity, its depth, and his very hard work in producing it. What I like about the report is that it has within it recommendations or suggestions or a pathway to the future. To that extent, I applaud him for that; there is a basis to build peace there. I...