‘Our Gallant Allies in Europe’ – Speech by Heather Humphreys

Ní neart go cur le chéile.

There is no strength without unity.  Or, to put it another way, we are stronger when we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

That’s what Europe means to me and why I’ve always been proud to call myself pro-European.

Thanks to our membership of the European Union, we have become a fairer, more open, and a more confident country.  

We have become a better country for women and children.

Europe gave us the courage to modernise, and the confidence to help take our place among the nations of the world.  

And we, in turn, have given so much back to Europe.  

Before we joined the EEC in 1973, Ireland was a very different country.

Women had to resign from their jobs in the civil service and the public sector when they got married.  

There was no equal pay for equal work, and no legal protections for pregnant women.    

It was an appalling way to exclude women from the workforce and make them feel second-class.  

When we joined the EEC only 27% of Irishwomen were working or allowed to work.

Europe helped change all that.

It challenged us to look again at our laws and our values, and it encouraged us to modernise for the better, and to live up to our ideals of equality and justice.  

Emily O’Reilly has described the date we joined the EEC as the day Irish women won their effective liberation.  

The basic principle of equal pay for equal work was part of the Treaty of Rome of 1957, and our membership of the European community committed us to living up to its ideals of equality and fairness.  

It stopped discrimination against breastfeeding mothers in the workplace and ensured crucial rights when it came to parental leave, and flexible working arrangements.  

Europe helped us to grow and build.   Our membership helped reverse decades of emigration, and a constant exodus of our young people.  

European investment helped modernise our infrastructure, and European markets helped create new jobs.  

For the first time, we had a real chance of building a successful future.  Irish people were able to see opportunities across Europe that were once impossible.    

Today, we have unhindered access to a market of over 450 million people and we have a more diverse economy, with so many different industries based here.

We are stronger and better because we are part of something bigger.

Our farmers have prospered thanks to European solidarity.  

Because of our partnership with the European Union, we have the Common Agricultural Policy and other rural programmes.  

When I sat in the Oireachtas and watched others say Irish people were subjects of Brussels, or that Europe had no moral compass, I couldn’t have disagreed more with them.

And, don’t forget, over the years, we have also played our part as proud Europeans.  

We have helped grow the EU and make it better.  Working together, we have helped to make it our common home.

Now in the 21st century, we can help Europe take the lead on the great issues of our time – climate action, security, migration, and the defence of democratic rights.  

Next summer, Ireland will take over the Presidency of the Council of the EU.  

We have an opportunity to showcase all that is great about our country, and all that we have to contribute to our allies and friends across Europe.  

As President I would fully support Ireland’s EU Presidency and play my part as 40 of our allies from the European Political Community come to Ireland next year for the largest head of government and state meeting ever held here.

I certainly won’t be insulting them.

John Hume called the EU the greatest peace process in history.

He saw how European integration helped end centuries of mistrust and suspicion between countries and create real bonds of friendship.  

He saw how Europe helped support peace on this island and defended it whenever it was threatened.

John Hume knew instinctively that we are stronger when we are part of something bigger.

I believe that European values are our values.  A belief in Democracy and Freedom.  Equality and Opportunity.  Peace and Security.

I believe they should also be the values of our next President.  

The President should be a voice for Democracy and Freedom, Equality and Opportunity, Peace and Security.

These values make a difference to all our of our lives.  Even if we don’t always realise it.    

Today, Europe faces its greatest test in its history. On the continent’s eastern frontier a war is waging between freedom and tyranny.  

Ukraine is fighting for its own freedom and for the freedom of all Europeans.

Other countries stand in the shadow of aggression and intimidation, as Russia seeks to bully and encroach.  

We see that in Moldova, we see it in Poland, and we see it in Lithuania and other countries.    

If history has taught us anything, it is that democracy is never secure unless it is defended.  

We must defend our shared values and our shared ideals, or risk seeing them lost forever.  

Europe has a moral compass, and Ireland plays its part in making sure it points the right way.  

I believe Europe is a shining light when it comes to the application of the rule of law.  

Believing in peace does not mean raising the white flag and surrendering when the tanks come marching through.  

It means standing up for what is right.  

It means standing up for the rule of law in Europe, for freedom in Ukraine, and for all our rights and freedoms.

I applaud Germany and France for standing up for Ukraine.

Like many others, I was disappointed and worried when the UK voted to leave the EU.  

I respected the democratic decision that had been made, but I regretted it, most of all for our peace process.  

Brexit was profoundly damaging to relationships on this island and between our islands.  

I worked hard with my colleagues in government to protect our peace process and our place in the EU.

Many in the opposition did the same by participating in Brexit forums to protect our country.

Some others were no where to be seen with solutions.

Instead they took to their feet in the Dáil to attack Brussels and support Brexiteers.

The other candidate for President spoke the language of Nigel Farage when she accused those of us who warned of the dangers of Brexit of “project fear” and concluded the British people had not been fooled.

It showed bad judgement then, and even poorer judgement now.

We need a President who is not ashamed to be European, who does not believe that Europe has lost its moral compass, who does not believe that it is a threat to peace. 

We need a President who has been a proud European all her life, not a President who has cynically pivoted in recent weeks to discover the value of the EU and our allies.  

Ireland is European, we have shared values, a shared history, and a shared future.   We are stronger together.  

Europe is not the enemy.  Europe is a shining light against the darkness and the home of our greatest allies and friends.

Our true enemy is the dark forces of authoritarianism around the world, who spread misinformation and disinformation to weaken democracy.  

Joining with countries across Europe, I congratulate Maria Corina Machado on winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

It was a recognition of her struggle for democracy, and humanity, against the darker forces of dictatorship and authoritarianism.  

It recognises her courage and bravery, providing hope to people denied basic freedoms.  

The far left in Ireland has been suspiciously quiet for more than a week in congratulating this woman fighting for democracy.

Ireland and the EU is proud to stand with the defenders of freedom and for those who choose courage over cruelty, and justice over repression.  

Very few countries recognise the dictatorship in Venezuela, apart from  Russia, Syria, and North Korea, among others.

Very few political parties in Ireland recognise it.

Very few independent politicians do.  

I certainly don’t.

We need a President who can tell the difference between our friends and allies and those who are enemies of freedom and basic rights.  

To conclude, let me share a story with you from my days in the Credit Union.  

There I got to see people at the start of the careers, and at the end of their working lives, and at all stages in between.  

Sometimes needing a little help, sometimes a lot.  

On their own, they were lost.  

But as a part of a bigger community, they were able to build a better future for themselves.  

I see our membership of Europe in the same way.  

The 1916 Proclamation was our declaration of freedom and independence. It represented our hopes, our ideals, our aspirations.

‘Irishmen and Irishwomen’ helped win that freedom in the years immediately afterwards.

But our ‘gallant allies in Europe’ helped put substance on so many of our dreams about equality and freedom.

We are united by hope, and by our shared European values.  

They are our values too.

Ní neart go cur le chéile.  

There is no strength without unity.  

Our greatest strength, our greatest hope for the difficult days ahead, is a shared European future.  

Thank you.