Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I believe we heard that point made by a delegation from Sweden or Denmark. That is a very interesting concept.
I congratulate Mr. Butler on being so quick off the mark. I was shocked to learn from a press statement covered in The Irish Times that the Government planned a review. This returns me to Mr. Butler's point about the Minister being able to determine policy alone. For example, he can issue a press statement announcing a review. We had to place this issue on our agenda to ascertain what the hell he was talking about. That is the reason we are having this discussion.
I do not see anything wrong with the notion of ambassadors appearing before the joint committee when they are being appointed. We would not deprive them of their jobs but it would be nice to find out, for example, from an ambassador being appointed to China or a Spanish-speaking country, whether he or she can speak Mandarin or Spanish as the case may be. This is basic information which we could elicit at such a meeting. The joint committee would have a more important role to play if it acquired greater status. Is this the start of a debate that will result in a White Paper?
The committee's relationship with Members of the European Parliament was raised. The relationship between the committee and the EU High Representative, Catherine Ashton, is very weak. How much do we compromise our national view on global developments when we engage with the European Union given that Ms Ashton subsequently acts as the spokesperson for all 28 member states?
I enjoyed reading Mr. Butler's paper and I thank him for encouraging the committee to grasp the nettle by empowering ourselves, acquiring greater responsibility and respect and assuming a role of parliamentary oversight.