Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Absolutely.

On Senator's Noone's point about the perceived disconnect between European institutions and Irish people, I am well aware of that. However, I see some positive signs of where that is changing. I have been struck by a few small changes recently which when put together could have a cumulative effect. In recent weeks RTE in its coverage has given considerable recognition to debates taking place in the European Parliament. That happened yesterday when Mr. Paul Murphy, MEP, and Mr. Seán Kelly, MEP, were quoted in respect of their contributions in a debate on a report that emanated from the Commission. Prior to that there was great deal of focus on proposals from the European Parliament on plain packaging on cigarettes. Following the devastation that has taken place in many of our cities across the country, we can see how quickly and correctly people have identified the role of the Commission in providing emergency funding to deal with this difficulty. On a smaller scale, any person who has the opportunity to holiday abroad this summer will get a message on their mobile phone from the European Union to alert them that their usage has gone over a certain level.