Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Howard for his presentation. It has been very useful. One would not know this was the first time the group has come before us. I pay tribute to Mr. Howard, the Minister, Deputy Shatter, and everybody else involved in the Department's work on the Irish Presidency.

The Minister has prioritised EU-UN relations and has said that the development of the EU-UN relations would be one of the priority areas of his Department's activity in the course of the Presidency. Will Mr. Howard address how the EU and Ireland, in particular, have helped influence the international security agenda during the time of the Presidency and beyond, because we are supposed to be looking at the Cypriot and Danish Presidencies in the course of this discussion?