Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Barrett for his submission and comprehensive report. I agree with everything he said. As somebody who was in the European Parliament for a short period, what hit me when I returned was the lack of scrutiny in Ireland and the lack of information about what was coming down the track from Europe. The Commission sets out its programme in November each year for the following 12 months. We do not discuss that in any committee or in either the Dáil or Seanad. We must start doing that and examining what is coming down the tracks in the next 12 months or two years. That was very evident with regard to a number of directives that came through and were in place for a number of years before the public became aware of them. One was the directive on turf cutting. Another which I had to deal with when I was in the European Parliament related to environmental impact studies for simple matters such as mussel seed harvesting. I recall being in Cromane in Kerry and being told that it was a new EU directive, but the directive had been in place for over eight years and €5 million had been allocated to a Department to assist with carrying out the environmental impact studies. However, because people were unaware of the directive, most of that money was returned to Brussels as it was not used. That is the issue in getting information out.

Two years ago, I suggested that the Seanad set aside two days a month to deal with European affairs alone. The problem was that when I assisted the Leader of the Seanad in making a submission regarding backup support staff, the proposal was not agreed to. That was unfortunate.

The other issue I was involved in was cross-border health care. I was directly involved in steering that directive through the European Parliament. It was finally signed off in February 2011, but 13 months later, as it must be in place by 24 October, the public has no information about their rights under this new directive. The directive is about one's entitlement to travel to another member state if one cannot get health care in this country or if there is undue delay. For that reason there should not only be debate and discussion on EU directives in committees but also in the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is about getting information out. Sometimes committees are doing very good and detailed work but, unfortunately, there is no media focus on that. However, there is a higher level of focus on the Dáil and Seanad, so there is a need to open them to having debates on that area. It is something I would support.

Dr. Barrett mentioned the role of the Seanad. If he were in our position, now that the Seanad has a mandate from the public in terms of it remaining in being but that there is a need for reform, how would he envisage the Seanad developing its role with regard to European affairs? Will he outline his views on how it could be used effectively in that way?