As lead negotiator for the European Greens, I am currently working on the reform of the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, with a particular focus on plastics.  In that work, one issue keeps coming up. We cannot keep trying to rely on recycling as a silver bullet to tackle the […]

As an MEP, the work that takes place in the European Union often seems too distant from the people who voted in the European elections back in 2019. It is something that has always bothered me, especially as too often the television and radio in Ireland focuses on American or […]

On January 1, 1973, Ireland finally joined the European Economic Community following a decade of back and forth negotiations.  At that time, our economy was almost entirely reliant on Britain, as was our application to join the European Community. Twice Britain’s application to join was rejected and ours along with […]

Back in the 1980s, I spent plenty of time in and out of police cars, military boats and detention centres, as a result of various demonstrations and protests with Greenpeace and the Rainbow Warrior. In a way, we were asking for it with the provocative activism that was the Greenpeace […]