Parliament

Read about my committees and work in the European Parliament

Agriculture & Rural Development Committee (AGRI)

As a full member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Agricultural and Rural Development, and Fine Gael’s voice for agriculture issues in Europe, I represent Irish farmers and rural communities at the decision-making table in Europe.

I am the lead negotiator for EU-UK issues on the Committee, and my key priorities include generational renewal, representing Ireland in the upcoming CAP negotiations, supporting young farmers and tearing down barriers for female farmers.

As a member of the Committee, I meet and speak with the Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen on a regular basis. We also regularly meet with other key EU agricultural stakeholders and groups.

Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL)

The EMPL Committee covers an array of employment and social policy, including working conditions, social inclusion and social protection.

I have worked as a Shadow Rapporteur for Vocational Educational Training (VET) and am currently working as a Shadow Rapporteur for Joint Draft Report on Gender Pay Transparency Directive with colleagues in the Women’s Rights & Gender Equality Committee. I am very excited to be appointed Rapporteur for an Own Initiative Report titled ‘Mental Health in the Digital World of Work’.

Regional Development Committee (REGI)

The Regional Development Committee works on EU Cohesion Policy which delivers funding vital to the infrastructure and social needs of our constituency. The aim of the Committee is to ensure income equality between regional and urban areas through policy and investment.

For example, €84 million from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) is key to supporting Ireland’s Midlands in addressing the impact of the transition out of peat and towards electricity generation.

Culture and Education Committee (CULT)

This committee is responsible for all cultural aspects of the European Union such as the protection of culture and heritage, linguistic diversity, education, audiovisual policy, media policy, youth and sports. Additionally, CULT has spearheaded the ‘Erasmus +’ programme, as well as ‘Creative Europe’ and the ‘Europe Solidarity Corps’ programmes.

As the only Irish member on CULT, I am honoured to represent us in supporting the recovery of the cultural and creative sector in the EU. Among my key objectives is the promotion of access for and participation of disabled and socially marginalised groups, both as creators and audience members.

Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee (FEMM)

The European Parliament’s Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Rights is key to improving the lives of women across the EU and further afield. The Committee passed a landmark piece of legislation to combat gender-based violence in the last mandate, and one of my top priorities is to ensure the full and proper implementation of this law in EU countries.

My other priorities on the Committee include eliminating the gender pay gap, improving women’s health services and outcomes, and protecting women online.

Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE):

This committee is in charge of a majority of the legislation and democratic oversight for policies that support citizens in the areas of freedom, security and justice. It fully respects the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the EU territory in conjunction with the European Convention on Human Rights and the strengthening of European citizenship.

This is my second term sitting on the Committee. Last term, I worked on a report recommending to the Commissioner to identify gender-based violence as a Eurocrime, as well as a report on Combating Gender-Based Violence: Cyber Violence. I was also appointed as a negotiator on a report titled ‘The Shrinking Space of Civil Society in Europe’.

Mental Health Work

I am dedicated to raising the cross-sectional impacts of mental health throughout my policy work. Key to this mission is the call for an EU Year of Good Mental Health to ensure that we are equipped for the oncoming mental health crisis which will follow the pandemic. I sit as Co-Chair of both mental health groups within the Parliament, the Coalition for Mental Health and Wellbeing and the MEP Alliance for Mental Health.

While primary competence for health matters lies with Member States, the EU plays a vital role in improving public health and improving the resilience of public health systems. As 447 million citizens live, work and study in the EU, access to cross-border healthcare and enhanced coordination between Member States can bring considerable benefits.

Delegation for relations to the USA

As an Irish American citizen my work as a member of the European Parliament’s Delegation for relations with the United States of America is very important. This all Party Committee meets and debates on specific areas of common competence between the European Union and the United States of America. The focus is enhancing our personal ties, our interlinked economies, our shared history and our common values.This delegation has been meeting to discuss matters of common interest on a regular basis for the last 45 years! We currently face a wide range of individual and collective challenges, the relationship between us has become more important than ever. We meet representatives of the US Congress twice a year, in both the EU and the US. Our Parliament also hosts politicians, ambassadors, academics and other experts both in Brussels and Strasbourg.

LGBTI+ Intergroup

The LGBTI+ Intergroup is the largest intergroup in the European Parliament and one that I am most proud to be a Vice President of. Formed to ensure the rights of LGBTI+ people across Europe, we monitor the work of the European Union by examining the legislative work of the European Parliament to ensure LGBTI+ issues are included in the various reports, amendments and resolutions the Parliament works on. We also examine the everyday situation for LGBTI+ people in EU Member States and beyond. We take an active part in promoting the human rights of LGBTI+ people, reminding each Member States and their authorities of their human rights obligations. In my eyes, we most importantly act as a bridge between civil society groups and European institutions, relaying their concerns with a strong voice at the European level.

Delegation to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly

The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is created out of a shared desire to bring together elected representatives of Europe, Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific States. As a member of this Delegation for the European Parliament, we meet multiple times a year in order to ensure the continuity of the work of the Assembly and to prepare new initiatives, aimed notably at reinforcing and improving cooperation.

We also consider topical political questions and adopt positions on human rights cases, and we recently adopted resolutions on access to energy, food security, technology transfer, the Millennium Development Goals, security in the Sub-Saharan region and one I am particularly interested in and working on, free and independent media.