Clare Labour T.D. Michael McNamara has criticised Ireland’s MEPs for their “failure” to address key concerns in relation to agriculture, economic and foreign policy matters at a Dáil briefing today.
“My Dáil colleagues and I asked specific questions today but received general answers that did not provide clarity on the key issues affecting Ireland and the wider European Union”, he stated.
“MEPs failed to answer if the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would be revised in 2013 as envisaged or whether it would be postponed. They also failed to confirm whether the permanent bailout mechanism agreed by the European Council at the end of March differs in any substantial way from the temporary bailout mechanism that Ireland has availed of, and in particular whether it provides for burden sharing”.
“Furthermore, in a question I submitted, Irish MEPs refused to share their opinion when I asked them if they thought Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was doing a good job in view of the fact that the changes to the European Treaty introduced by the Lisbon Treaty provides that EU foreign relations will be founded upon on and guided by international human rights standards. I based the question on the fact that a mission sent last year to Ethiopia, which is the single biggest net recipient of EU aid and bilateral Irish aid, reported that food aid was being abused for political gain in the run up to an election. In the middle of that mission the Development Commissioner signed a new agreement for further food aid. No answer or response to the issue was forthcoming from our MEPs”.
“I am disappointed that our MEPs failed to provide anything other than useless platitudes to the questions we raised”, he said.
Deputy McNamara likened today’s briefing by MEPs to “A Lighthouse in the bog…brilliant and shining but completely useless”.
“MEPs failed to answer if the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) would be revised in 2013 as envisaged or whether it would be postponed. They also failed to confirm whether the permanent bailout mechanism agreed by the European Council at the end of March differs in any substantial way from the temporary bailout mechanism that Ireland has availed of, and in particular whether it provides for burden sharing”.
“Furthermore, in a question I submitted, Irish MEPs refused to share their opinion when I asked them if they thought Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was doing a good job in view of the fact that the changes to the European Treaty introduced by the Lisbon Treaty provides that EU foreign relations will be founded upon on and guided by international human rights standards. I based the question on the fact that a mission sent last year to Ethiopia, which is the single biggest net recipient of EU aid and bilateral Irish aid, reported that food aid was being abused for political gain in the run up to an election. In the middle of that mission the Development Commissioner signed a new agreement for further food aid. No answer or response to the issue was forthcoming from our MEPs”.
“I am disappointed that our MEPs failed to provide anything other than useless platitudes to the questions we raised”, he said.
Deputy McNamara likened today’s briefing by MEPs to “A Lighthouse in the bog…brilliant and shining but completely useless”.
