De Burca vows to win back Green Party’s European seat in Dublin
Green Party Senator Deirdre de Burca today vowed to win back a Green European Parliament seat for Dublin, which the Party held between 1994 and 2004. Speaking at the launch of her election campaign, Senator de Burca said the city badly needed a green voice in Europe.
Senator de Burca said: “Dublin needs a strong green voice in Europe. The European Union is struggling to cope with the fallout from the failed economic policies of a right- wing dominated European Parliament, propped up by Fine Gael and the British Tories. The time has come for more balanced policies, with a long-term focus. Only a strong green European Parliament can deliver on this.”
Launching the theme of her campaign, ‘What do you stand for?’ Senator de Burca said she will be asking voters to name the issues that are important to them, and how these issues could be tackled by the European Union. Voters can send their thoughts by email or text to the campaign website ‘http://www.whatistandfor.ie/‘. Voters can also record their thoughts in the ‘What do you stand for?’ video booth that will accompany Senator de Burca on the canvass trail.
“As a Green MEP I will work to bring thousands of new green jobs back to Dublin,” said Senator de Burca. “I support the call of the European Green Party for a ‘Green New Deal’ that would see €500 billion being made available from public and private sources to create five million new jobs in green energy and clean technology.
“Some years ago we harnessed this State’s industrial, educational, enterprise and development resources to develop biopharmaceutical and ICT sectors in Ireland, which led to significant inward investment and highly productive employment. We need to take a similar approach to the development of the green technology sector. With the assistance of the European Union, the move towards a green economy in Ireland will secure our energy future, and importantly stimulate our economy.”
The Green Party Senator said that as an MEP she will lead by example on expenses. “I will not be boarding the EU gravy train. I will publish details of my European Parliament expenses on
my website, for each and every year that I am in office. I also stand for the mandatory – not voluntary – registration of corporate lobbyists in Brussels. MEPs should be obliged to disclose which firms have lobbied them. We cannot allow a situation to continue where citizens believe that their vote is worth less than a lobbyist’s Euro.”
On the issue of climate change Senator De Burca said that the European Greens will be insisting on legally-binding and enforceable greenhouse gas reduction targets during the next term of the European Parliament. “This will mean a real shift for Member States from responding to what are largely aspirational environmental targets, to dealing with targets that are legally enforceable. Unfortunately in Ireland, despite the efforts of the Greens in Government, we have not managed to achieve nearly enough to meet our climate obligations.”
De Burca says that she stands for protecting and defending Irish neutrality in Europe. “It is absolutely essential that the legal guarantees currently being negotiated by Ireland in advance of a re-run of the Lisbon Treaty fully respect both the Irish Constitution and the will of the Irish People. Negotiations on this issue with our partners in Government are both ongoing and difficult, but we are all hopeful of a satisfactory outcome.”
