Dara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to this meeting for an opportune discussion. I had the pleasure of accompanying her on a visit to one of the schools in the Blue Star programme. It is remarkable how open and engaged young people are with the European project. They are a reminder to everyone involved in politics that we all have a role to play in promoting Europe. The European Union is of great importance to our culture and the future of our youngest citizens. This is a long overdue debate.

I ask the Minister of State to tease out the issues she addressed and perhaps stray into her personal opinion. In Bucharest, where she was recently elected one of the vice-presidents of the European People's Party, a motion was passed calling for a directly-elected president of Europe. The Minister of State indicated that co-operation between all the political blocs is good. Is this view shared with the other political groupings? Is there discussion of how such a directly-elected role would play out with European Commissioners? Would they be directly elected or appointed? Would countries such as Ireland be at risk of losing a Commissioner?

The issue of eurocrats and technocrats generates considerable negative publicity. In the aftermath of recent economic reforms, most people accept there is a democratic deficit in Europe. How does the Minister of State expect the institutions to develop? Will a Commissioner become a Minister and so forth?