Having spent three nights in Strasbourg last week, I caught up with the three sitting MEPs for Ireland East and got an opportunity to have a look at their daily lives as MEPs.
I discovered that they are all a hardworking and enthusiastic group of people who are all eager to point out the important work that the European Union does on behalf of our country.
Two out of three will be hoping to regain their seats in the elections in June while Avril Doyle is stepping down making way for Kilkenny man John Paul Phelan to take over her work load. They each talked to me about their work and their lives in Europe.
Liam Aylward
Liam Aylward, a Fianna Fáil MEP, hasn’t lost an election in 35 years, and when asked why, he came up with a simple answer.
“I listen to people,” he said. “I have empathy - people go to their local politicians at weaker times and we need to be sympathetic and help them in their needs. I always feel a responsibility for the people who visit my clinics and I make sure everyone is treated equally, regardless of money or status.
“I have been in the EU now for five years and would definitely see the difference and impact this has had,” he continued. “It certainly opens up new avenues and the lamb report was a big part of this. As an MEP I have always been to the forefront in protecting Irish consumers.
“Only this week in Strasbourg, I supported new EU rules which have resulted in a reduction in the cost of roaming charges for mobile phone users in Ireland. I also served as vice president of the European Parliament climate change committee.”
Aylward’s family is very supportive of his work. “My wife Kathleen is a tower of strength — she is an amazing woman,” he said. “The children are great, and Liam junior works for me and he works around the clock regardless of the day or time.”
Aylward is also focused on the prevention of depression and suicide. While the awareness of this is ongoing there is now more money being put into prevention of suicide and depression. As for the Lisbon Treaty, come autumn Aylward is hopeful the vote will be yes.
“People in Kilkenny and Carlow mainly voted yes to Lisbon in 2008 and I hope now they will do the same,” he said. “We would be in a much better position financially if we voted yes - small businesses, economic recovery, and more power for the people are all on the European agenda.
"If I am re-elected to the European Parliament, I will fight to ensure that the EU continues to support Irish farmers in the context of the negotiations concerning how the EU budget for the period 2014 - 2021 will be spent.”
Mairead McGuinness
With a background in farming and journalism, Mairead McGuinness is no stranger to juggling life and work. A mother of four healthy children, as she says “very luckily", she also has an extremely supportive husband who she credits with keeping the perfectly balanced family life. Without this she would find her position as an MEP very difficult.
‘’While the travel can be tough at times, due to the world we now live in it’s easier than for our predecessors,” she said. “With today’s technology I have the freedom of working from so many places and it allows me to live.”
That may be easier said than done for someone who is a workaholic.
“My life is work and family — that’s it,” she said. “I don’t golf, play tennis, or anything like that — it literally is work and family and I wouldn’t have it any other way. My husband is big into his GAA and he takes the children, twins Orlaith and James, who are 15, and the younger children Aine and Cathal, to their sports. They are well-rounded and I wouldn’t have them complain.”
What McGuinness would change about her work are the broken promises associated with politics.
“It frustrates me so much when people have the power to implement change to do their part and don’t,” she said. “For the people who make so many broken promises that’s the hard part. My motto is hard working, straight talking, and I have lived up this motto and will continue to do so if I am re-elected. I have made promises that I would bring the people’s voice to Europe and I delivered on this and will continue to do so.”
What McGuinness wanted to point out was her drive to see her promises through.
“I am an early riser, I never give up and I always deliver,” she said. “If we all pulled together the world would be a better place. We all have responsibilities and I see to it that mine are dealt with.”
Avril Doyle
Avril Doyle may be close to handing over her European reins but she is still as busy as ever. The woman from Wexford has given a lifetime of work and effort to creating a better future for Ireland and has seen so many changes.
“I have worked here for 35 years, and I think it’s time someone else got the chance,” she said. “I would like to reclaim my own personal, but professional, life. There are areas I wish to develop and this decision will allow me to this. I have been thinking about this for some years now and it really was when is the right time to tell my colleagues.
Politics can be a tough job to get in to - but it can be just as hard to leave.
“It is difficult leaving this kind of profession as it’s dysfunctional and unpredictable which is quite addictive,” she admitted. “However I would be delighted to see Senator John Paul Phelan take the seat. He is more than capable, young, and intelligent, and has earned his seat. John Paul knows where Ireland is and why it is at this place. He has an economic background and will help people.”
Doyle fondly remembers her first real achievement in politics.
“I was the first ever Mayor of Wexford In 1976,” she said proudly. “I was also a minister of state.”
However a very rewarding achievement for Doyle happened in Strasbourg on Thursday last when the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of Doyle’s report on the review of the Emissions Trading System, which is the cornerstone of the EU’s energy and climate change package, and described as the most significant report ever to be written by an Irish MEP. The legislation was adopted with 610 votes in favour, 60 against and, 29 abstentions.
The package was drawn up to ensure that the EU will achieve its reduction target in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 20 per cent, a 20 per cent improvement in energy efficiency, and a 20 per cent share for renewables in the EU by 2020.
It will be the EU’s legislative contribution to the Copenhagen UN Convention on Climate Change in 12 months’ time where the number one goal will be to get a global agreement on the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and limit the rise in the global temperature to 2° C.
Among the key provisions in Mrs Doyle’s report is the commitment to provide €300 million allowances for the carbon capture and storage of emissions from power stations and industrial installations. This could amount to up to €9 billion.
Speaking after the vote, Doyle said: “The EU is the only region in the world that currently has a functioning emissions trading system and which has put a price on carbon and which is committed to a 20 per cent unilateral reduction in our CO2 emissions. Effectively we have been the pilot project for the rest of the world, for other regions,” she said.
