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

In regard to the Minister of State's reference to a Mediterranean and maritime flavour over the next six months, I hope he likes eating fish and drinking quality wine and that if he can get some time off from his busy schedule he will enjoy doing so.

I understand the Minister of State wishes to concentrate today on issues such as security of energy and so on. However, he has caused a drift in the discussion towards Bosnia. I do not propose to say too much other than that I have a particular interest in Bosnia and the Irish-Bosnian community, having experienced a close relationship with the student refugees involved in the Tuzla bombing who were taken in by Ireland and went on to be fine students in our universities, some of whom have chosen to become citizens of Ireland. Having worked with the OSCE in the region, I am very familiar with the people.

During the last COSAC meeting, Mr. Valentin Inzko agreed with me that a lot of time had been wasted and that much had been assumed in regard to the evolutionary process that would take place. Given Croatia's move into Europe, he thought there would be a natural progression by the people of Bosnia and Herzegovinia in that direction. However, that did not happen. It would have been explained in great detail by the ex-pats that Europe was not assisting in the development of proper politics in the region and that it if it imposed more authority on the country things could progress. Mr. Inzko admitted some mistakes had been made.

It was stated by one of the witnesses at yesterday's meeting that Bosnia and Herzegovinia represented a most reluctant country embracing nationhood. I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive engagement on the issue of Bosnia, including with students at the universities and with ex-pats here. I wish him continued success in that regard. The Minister of State might elaborate on the Irish role in the European institutions, which was also referred to at yesterday's meeting. The Minister mentioned that in this regard we are in a transitionary stage. I do not know why that would be the case. I am not surprised to hear that 1,500 students attended the address in TCD and UCD. Perhaps it was in the context of job prospects that they attended. Is the Minister of State suggesting in the context of the forthcoming European elections in May that many of the people in the institutions will lose their jobs? I thought they were ingrained in those institutions.

It is a fascinating experience for us to engage with Irish people engaged in Europe. For example, the committee met yesterday with a team of OECD representatives who monitor the Irish Aid programme, including our project in Malawi, which work is being compared with that of a similar Portuguese agency working in that area. One of the key OECD members is an Irish woman. There are many talented Irish people working in this area. We should not be too surprised by this given the fantastic statistic released this week that 90% of our student cohort go on to complete the leaving certificate. I congratulate the Minister of State on his engagement with the university sector although I am not sure of the reason for his encouraging third level students to take up jobs in the European Commission structures. I would have thought it to be a natural progression for them. Interestingly, during the review by the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade of Irish foreign policy, one of the first out of the hatches was an Irish academic based in Copenhagen University who made a phenomenal contribution to the debate about Ireland's new role in the world. Bright intellectual Irish people keep popping up everywhere.

I have a few specific questions for the Minister of State. Notwithstanding what we heard yesterday, I would like to think that the Minister of State will continue to recognise the role Albania has to play. I would like at this point to pay compliment to one of the contributors to yesterday's meeting, namely, Mr. Tony Connelly, RTE's Europe Editor, who plays an enormously important role in educating Irish people about what is happening in Europe. He does a phenomenal job.

One of the Minister of State's key areas for debate is that of migration. It was suggested at yesterday's meeting that in this regard we have it all wrong. I refer members to the hysteria among the British to the free movement of labour from Bulgaria and Romania, in particular the British media in terms of its obscene presence at the airport to report on the influx of migrant workers into the country. It was suggested at yesterday's meeting that Europe is an ageing region. For example, we know that Germany has an ageing population and that the populations of Latvia, Lithuania and other countries are declining. Perhaps the Minister of State will say whether in his view the manner in which Europe is dealing with the migration issue is wrong and needs urgent review.