Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to have the presentation before us, with particular respect to how the EU matters have been dealt with through the Department. I make a general point but it is one we hear all the time, about how Ireland interprets or implements EU legislation. One often hears it said - anecdotally - that we jump higher or faster than most EU countries. The regulations and directives have to be implemented, however, and it is particularly pleasing to hear of the achievements of the Department during the Presidency and to know the legislation will have positive impacts for our economy even though we are a peripheral region of the European Union. Issues such as transport costs probably impact on us more than in mainland Europe. The Department must bear that in mind in terms of having a level playing field when it comes to implementation of directives and regulations from the EU. We are conscious of this as public representatives because we hear the stories. It is very good to get the message from the Department about the positive impact in terms of safety the legislation is bringing.

I sincerely thank Mr. O'Mahony and his officials for their presentation today. We will consider the contents as very important and will continue to have dialogue between the Department and the committee in the coming time.

As there is no further business the committee will adjourn until next Wednesday when the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, will attend for a pre-Transport Council meeting.