The public isn’t as interested as politicians are in who should hold what position. Nevertheless, assignments need to be given and last night, EU leaders were negotiating throughout the early morning hours in Brussels in a special summit, the key focus of our news reporting today.
Ursula von der Leyen, as reported by our Brussels correspondent Jack Power, is poised for another five-year term as the president of the European Commission, the highest level of power within the EU. Despite her controversial, and at the time, unjustified support of Israel during the Hamas massacre of October 7th which annoyed many leaders, she has nonetheless risen as the favoured candidate among country leaders. Their decision, however, requires approval from the European Parliament via a vote, which is likely to occur in July, as recounted by Jack.
Simon Harris, the Taoiseach, informed the media that a general agreement is building around Ursula von der Leyen’s second term as president and it’s plausible that the Government will join this consensus. However, many Irish MEPs, including all from the Fianna Fáil party, have declared they will not back her. The European People’s Party (EPP), the central-right political party which von der Leyen and Fine Gael are members of, is optimistic that she will prevail when the Parliament votes. The voting is done via a secret ballot.
The political carousel of top positions isn’t just an EU issue. The Irish Government currently faces the task of selecting its nomination for the upcoming European Commissioner of Ireland. As reported today, an imminent decision is expected. The chatter in political circles centres around Michael McGrath, the current Minister for Finance. If this prediction holds true, there will be a vacant finance minister position which will need to be filled by Micheál Martin, ahead of the Coalition’s final budget outlining – a budget many TDs in the Government are relying on to secure their roles. However, the Central Bank has issued a precaution regarding an overly generous budget. Only time will reveal the outcome.
Simon Harris, fresh from his Brussels visit, will join today’s Cabinet meeting with a packed schedule on hand. Details of these engagements are elaborated by Harry McGee.
The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, plans to propose a new bill to fully substitute the International Protection Act of 2015, thus allowing Ireland to fully participate in the EU Asylum and Migration Pact. Harsh provisions of the pact, such as increased border security measures like fingerprinting and photographing new arrivals, are set to be employed in Ireland. The movement to enact the EU pact is taking place while it is under debate in the Dáil.
On another note, the effect of the EU’s newly approved nature restoration legislation in Ireland is reported by Kevin O’Sullivan. Strike action within Aer Lingus could occur as soon as next week, according to Barry O’Halloran, and seems almost unavoidable.
Fintan O’Toole discusses the archiving measures by religious congregations and the discrepancies between those in the north and the south. The controversy surrounding a recent planning bill is addressed in this week’s head-to-head discussion. A comprehensive piece on Saudi Arabia’s renewed relationship with the US is an interesting longer read.
The Dáil convened for its initial Leaders’ Questions session of the week at 2pm. It will be intriguing to monitor whether Mary Lou McDonald continues her understated approach last week after the election. With almost five hours allocated for the EU’s migration pact discussion in Dáil, not only the content but also the tone of the debate will be worth observing. The day in Dáil concludes with a late-night adjournment, followed by Sinn Féin’s motion regarding carers and inquiries for the Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman.
Meanwhile, the Seanad sports a less congested schedule. There are a variety of interesting committee hearings including Eamon Ryan attending an EU statutory instruments session at the Seanad select committee, the Ukrainian ambassador’s session at the foreign affairs committee, and Uisce Éireann appearing at the environment committee.