Regina Doherty is the deputy leader and former leader of the Seanad. She has been a senator since 2020. A former TD and Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Doherty was also the Government’s Chief Whip from 2016 to 2017.

I want to stand up for Dubliners and our place in Europe. I am someone who has always believed in the power of politics to make a positive change and I am someone who takes action whenever I see an injustice or a problem to be solved. I want to put these values at service of the people of Dublin in the European Parliament.

When I was Minister for Social Protection, I introduced the Pandemic Unemployment Payment which was vital in protecting so many people’s jobs during the Covid19 restrictions. I introduced the first ever hot school meals programme for Irish school children. I introduced Parents Benefit, banned zero-hours contracts, and strengthened the pension system. I am a doer.

I grew up on Dublin’s Northside. I know the issues that affect people in Dublin. I am strongly pro-European. I want to support our small business, our families, and our students. I will stand up for the rule of law across the EU. I want the EU to be a force for good in the world.

There are a number of very important issues. Amongst them is the need to support our small businesses and jobs by making it easier for them to access the EU single market. Also we need to commit to properly completing the single market, including in the area of services, making it easier for small business to expand across borders, to employ people, and to access the funding and supports they need.

The rise of populism and extremism in many EU countries including Ireland, is putting EU values under pressure. The EU needs to be clearer in requiring its member states, including places like Hungary, to uphold these basic values of free expression, freedom of assembly, democracy, and human rights, including by linking this requirement to the provision of EU funding.

The next term will see negotiations take place on the EU's next seven-year budgetary framework. We need to ensure that the EU budget properly meets our needs and requirements for the future. This includes increased funding for vital programmes such as Erasmus and Horizon that are crucial for our students and researchers. We also need to look at ways that the EU can better support Member States on important issues such as the provision of affordable housing and vital construction skills.

We need to continue the work on the Green Deal in order to meet our climate targets in a realistic and achievable way. We need to take make the most of the opportunities that come about through new green industries and green jobs.

I also want to see the EU speak with greater authority and leadership on the world stage. This means supporting Ukraine as long as it takes. It means firmly saying that we need an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a return of hostages, and a move to a two-state solution. It means tackling misinformation and disinformation that comes from malicious third country actors. The challenges are great. If we are united then we will achieve more than if we act on our own. This is the value of the European Union.

My party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) Group. This is the biggest and most influential group in the European Parliament and is a broad alliance of parties of the centre and centre-right from all EU Member States. The EPP has always been at the heart of the European project since the beginning. It was EPP leaders that were central to promoting European unity after the Second World War. The EPP group supports a strong social market economy, growing our small businesses, removing barriers to opportunity across the EU, backing Ukraine, and making sure that solidarity, equality, justice, and human dignity are at the heart of the EU project. In the last term, the EPP group led the way in advocating for EU legislation on combatting violence against women, a fair and just green deal, promoting the rule of law, and cutting red tape for SMEs. Being part of the largest group in the European Parliament allows Irish MEPs to have a real say and influence in the key decisions that impact Europe.