Irish MEPs split in votes on tough issues

Ireland’s members of the European Parliament were split in votes on the controversial issues of arms, GMOs, fracking, and global warming, a report has shown.

Fine Gael members were much more likely to side with business interests, while Labour agreed more with the policies of anti-war groups and environmentalists.

Fianna Fáil were closer to the left, as were Independent MEP Marian Harkin and the Socialist Party’s Paul Murphy.

However, Fine Gael disputed some of the findings, saying the motions chosen for the report were not an accurate reflection of their overall policy on the issues.

On votes related to defence and the arms industry, the study found that Fine Gael MEPs voted against giving parliamentary bodies oversight of arms exports to ensure they did not breach criteria on human rights and democracy; and did not oppose a new budget to help fund the development of Europe’s weapon technology.

Nessa Childers, the MEP running as an Independent in Dublin, defended her vote for funding new weapons technology. Her spokesperson said Europe needed to invest in areas to deal with major disasters, for instance.

On genetically modified organisms (GMO), Fine Gael MEPs voted not to ban a type of maize environmentalists said could affect biodiversity. A spokesperson said they voted in line with Ireland’s policy, which does not favour GMO being grown in Ireland, but believes others should make up their own mind.

On fracking, Fine Gael MEPs voted against a temporary ban, but backed an environmental impact assessment being carried out before preliminary explorations are allowed.

“We do not think it is appropriate for Ireland, but we are aware the gas is cleaner than coal — it is leading to a deindustrialisation in the US — and could be used by some countries in the EU,” said a spokesperson.

The report also tracked MEPs votes on climate change, such as having countries make bigger cuts to greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out subsidies for fossil fuel.

Fine Gael scored less on the environmentalists’ report than MEPs from other parties, voting against increasing the cuts to greenhouse gas emissions, abstaining on the vote to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, and voting against providing climate finance for the world’s poorest.