Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Commissioner for a most comprehensive response to the questions. His opening statement is very reassuring. I thank him and his colleagues, Mr. Dermot Ryan and Mr. Tom Tynan, and I welcome Mr. Gerry Kiely, the head of the European Commission office in Ireland. We look forward to meeting them again. The Minister of State, Deputy Dara Murphy, has invited the committee to go to Brussels to meet the Commissioner, maybe early in the new year, for further discussions and an update on what is happening. The committee has a lead role in our response to Brexit. We are attending the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for European Affairs, COSAC, meeting in November to put across the message on where we stand. Everybody with influence must express where we stand in the difficult negotiations ahead. The Commissioner is doing this in the Commission, although he has responsibility for all 28 countries at the moment. We wish the Commissioner a safe journey back to Brussels and we look forward to seeing him again in the new year. We thank him for his time, patience and response.