Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for a broad-ranging presentation. I will deal with four areas. First, the issue that has focused all of us, and everybody in the world, is the ongoing and disintegrating situation in the Middle East. We are horrified, and have been for a year, by the carnage in Gaza. We seem to be moving further away from a ceasefire there, especially now there is the escalation in Lebanon. Will the Minister of State give us an Irish perspective on the worsening situation in Lebanon? Overnight, there has been an increased exchange of rockets with long-range rockets fired by Hezbollah that were intended to reach Tel Aviv. What is the situation with regard to Irish citizens and their dependants in Lebanon? Is there a plan to provide an evacuation route for them should they decide to leave, and does that include their dependants? She might also, as Minister of State, even without particular responsibility for defence, make reference to our troops. People will be anxious to know they are completely safe. In the event of a ground invasion, what is the contingency, if she is in a position to explain that to us?

My second question relates to the new Commission and in particular the appointment of a new defence Commissioner. The defence Commissioner nominated is the former Lithuanian Prime Minister, Andrius Kubilius, who has stated that he hopes to raise billions of euro, including by the issuing of joint euro bonds, to fund and encourage a European defence industry. What is our attitude to the role? Has the Minister of State had discussions with the Commission President on the role of this defence Commissioner and how it will relate to Ireland and our neutral position? What is our position on the issuing of joint euro bonds by a defence Commissioner? A related issue is a letter to Mr. Kubilius by Commission President von der Leyen, where she asked him to work closely with the new policy chief, Kaja Kallas. Both are senior Baltic politicians; with a perspective the Minister of State understands is understandably focused on Russian aggression. However, I am thinking in terms of its implications for European foreign policy because in that letter, the Commission President asked Mr. Kubilius to work with Ms Kallas to produce a common paper on defence for Europe as a priority once they are both ratified. I am interested in her take on that.

My third question, on which I will be brief, refers to the rule of law, which will now hopefully be the responsibility of Commissioner McGrath. I think the Minister of State was right to go to the GAC meeting and voice a view rather than abstain. I represented this committee at the first COSAC in Budapest at the start of the Hungarian Presidency. I must say I was taken aback by the stridency of their views on these matters as articulated by their Deputy Prime Minister. We need to be clear on that. I am interested in the Minister of State's policy approach to ensure the rule of law is not further eroded.

My fourth question is on the Draghi paper on competitiveness. The Minister of State said the Government endorsed and welcomed it. One of the concerns we have is the relaxation of state aid rules. I looked at the statistics on it and in the relaxation that has already taken place, the capacity of France and Germany in particular to greatly support domestic industries will put Ireland at a great disadvantage. How does she propose to address that issue?