Mr. James Doyle:

I am reluctant to say that there is very little interaction with the MEPs. I suppose it is the poor relation of administration. I do not know how that can be corrected. Some of us might have access but there is not general access to MEPs as such. They are very spread out. While the country is small, at the same time there is much travelling involved. We are very fortunate in Killarney because we have an MEP beside us but that does not mean that somebody in a different part of the countryside has the same access. Neither do they have the structure on the ground to cater for that type of interaction which is a great pity. I was in Brussels last year with our MEP where we met some members of the European Commission. The Commission is not as draconian as we portray it. The directives coming from Brussels are not draconian, it is only when we get them here, we seem to go to town on them. That is a breakdown in the system. I am glad the Chairman asked the question because it is an important issue that needs to be addressed, given that the European Council has so much power, which we welcome in a democracy, but maybe it is the bad way around on the other hand. I used to be in IFA and I was in Brussels a few times. My experience of the Commission was that it was far more benign that what emerged in Ireland afterwards.