Dr. Gavin Barrett:

Perhaps they might be of some use and might be either accepted or rejected. Comparatively speaking, the Oireachtas must up its game in general, because compared with parliaments in other countries, we are falling behind in European Union scrutiny. It would be very useful for the Oireachtas to pay attention to other small countries in particular, as we do not have the resources of Germany or the United Kingdom. Although we have great similarities with the United Kingdom in many respects when it comes to the parliamentary system and it is useful to examine it in that regard, we will never have resources, either in terms of personnel or finance, to mimic the activities of the House of Lords. It is more useful for us to consider the likes of Denmark, Finland and Sweden to see if we can pick up tips from them to scrutinise European matters.

We need to combine decentralisation with centralisation. It is great that we now have scrutiny of EU measures by all committees, but we need feedback to some centralised body, such as this committee. We need to up the ante with regard to ministerial accountability. We also need to up the game with regard to subsidiarity, as we are well down the European ranks. We also need to get going on the various aspects of European Union policy that do not involve legislation, as I have already mentioned, and, if possible, we need to contribute to at least some major debates at European Union level. For example, there is a banking union being constructed around us at a European level and we need to contribute to that discussion. The banks brought down our economy so how are we contributing to that debate? It is only one example of an issue, as there are others that could be considered.

We need to make better use of resources. We have retained a resource that we may not have had after the vote last week, so what use are we making of the Seanad?

What are we going to do with that? Is it possible for the committee to make suggestions in that regard?

We need systems to control the implementation of European Union law and also better systems regarding the adoption of European Union law. That is the scrutiny system as well, which more or less functions but can be improved. We must choose what we will prioritise in that regard.

My conclusion is that much has been done - we really have done a great deal and I have no wish to be negative about this - but there is a great deal more to do as well.