Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman and the committee secretariat for the work that they put into the recent visit to Brussels by the committee. I also thank the Minister for engaging with us in Brussels and enlightening us on his work on the various issues of the day, most particularly Brexit.

We met important people in Brussels and people openly conveyed their views to us. Probably one of the most important meetings, without intentionally singling anyone out, was with Michel Barnier and Guy Verhofstadt given their crucial role in Brexit negotiations. While there was huge sympathy for and understanding of the Irish position, I took the clear message from the meetings that we had to come up with a solution, in particular a solution for the hard border question. They threw the issues back at us by asking us to come forward with practical and workable solutions. Is the Government working on practical solutions to this issue? The Taoiseach informed the Dáil this morning that he brought a memo to Government on the Brexit issue and there will be a big speech this afternoon in the Mansion House. Have we moved forward with coming up with practical solutions to our particular problems to put on the negotiation table?

When we were in Brussels I picked up on the fact that the committees of the European Parliament, that deal with all of the sectoral issues, have to date prepared 20 reports on Brexit. I am sure that is a very useful amount of knowledge that has been prepared by the European Parliament. I hope that the Irish Government will tap into that information. The committees dwell on the micro-economic issues as they manifest themselves and the reports are available and ongoing. I am sure they will be a useful resource for Ireland in helping it to tackle this particular challenge.

Can the Minister of State update us on his visits to the European capitals? The Taoiseach is visiting the Heads of Government and the Minister is visiting his equivalent throughout the member states. The Minister of State undertook a number of visits throughout the European Union to inform the other 26 member states of our particular concerns and listen to their concerns. Has the process been finalised? Have we contacted everybody who needed to be contacted initially? How is the programme going?

I was interested in what the Minister of State had to say about the challenges that face the European Union and the future of Europe, in particular the Bratislava process that was launched following the vote on the British referendum on 23 June. I agree with what he said about the Irish position. I agree that we need to concentrate on practical issues and bring forward a realistic agenda so that the citizens of Europe engage with it, fully promote it and support it. In particular, he laid emphasis on increased investment and creating more job opportunities with which I agree. He also mentioned the Single Market and the digital Single Market. If we can bring forward practical solutions and Europe is seen to deliver then support for the European project will be maintained and increased.

The Rome Summit will take place on 25 March, which is the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. I presume it will be a great opportunity to return to basics and outline for all of us the values of the European Union, what it stands for and what it has prevented. The European Union has prevented war and brought peace and stability in our time. The summit should be used to reinforce that agenda. I look forward to seeing that being rolled out in advance of and following the summit on 25 March.