Cost of hosting EU summits worth it as Ireland will get lot in return – minister

A junior minister has defended the bill of hosting two major EU summit events in Dublin, saying the country will “get a lot in return”.

Ireland carried out its largest ever diplomatic undertaking as 50 heads of state arrived in the capital for the European Political Community meeting on Thursday.

It marked the centrepiece of Ireland’s EU Presidency and took place amid the biggest security operation in the history of the state.

The Government’s overall budget for hosting the EU Presidency is about 300 million euro, while the estimated cost of the EPC and the informal European Council meeting on Friday is between 30 and 40 million euro.

Catherine Ardagh, Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, defended the spending.

“Some people at home might question why are we spending money, and like what do we get in return? But I’d like to say we get a lot in return,” she told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics programme.

“So, if you’re like a multinational company looking at Ireland and you don’t have a footprint in Ireland. You’re going to say, maybe we should have a footprint in Ireland.

“Look at their government. They have a stable government, their economy is doing well.

“I do think that we will see a return from these types of high-level conferences. It just shows the world that we are a place that you come to. We’re stable and we’re prosperous, and if you bring your company here, give yourself a footprint here, it will pay dividends for you also.”

Labour TD Rob O’Donoghue described the events as an “expensive exercise”.

Speaking on the same show, Labour’s spokesman for arts and media, added: “It has been the centrepiece of our presidency, and there’s been up and down points basically with it.

“We are in a more unstable world we’ve ever been in before. I think it’s good to have had our European allies over here and Canada also, to discuss the issues that we’re going to be facing with into the future.

“We are all proud Europeans.

“With the summit itself, it’s unfortunate that we haven’t seen further actions taken on workers’ rights and climate change. But there was a good AI discussion on Friday.

“I think after the midterms in the US, we can see that people want regulation of the AI technologies, and they want billionaires kept on a chain, and I think Europe is the best place to produce laws that will regulate this sector.

“They’re stronger, and we are stronger together, and that’s come through in this this past presidency.”

Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane said that while Taoiseach Micheál Martin “wined and dined” the leaders, he did not raise Government plans to enact legislation that would remove the triple lock.

Mr Cullinane claimed there is “deep anger” among the Irish public to reform the system around the deployment of peacekeeping troops.

“I’m meeting people all of the time who are very concerned about neutrality and the attempt by the Government to railroad through a Bill in the Dáil,” the Sinn Féin TD added.

“I want people to have their say. It’s fundamental to the Irish people. So, what’s wrong with having a referendum? And that’s the motion that we in Sinn Féin will bring forward to the Dáil.

“I don’t believe as a neutral country Ireland should be funding arms to Ukraine.

“I think we obviously have to help in rebuilding Ukraine, and that’s why it’s so fundamentally important because we have wars across the world, and we need more countries like Ireland that can stand up for international law, that can be a voice for peace, and we can do that as being a military neutral country.

“I’m very concerned about the ending of the triple lock and attempts to railroad it through by this minister (Ms Ardagh) and the government already.”