Ms Marian Harkin:

I want to respond to some of the issues raised. I go back to the very first thing that Ms Mairead McGuinness asked today, namely "How?". We can talk all day, but at the end of the day how do we sit down and have an interaction that is meaningful and which will have an impact on my role or that of any of the other MEPs on legislation? I think Ms McGuinness was also there when we had a dial-up one day from the Parliament. I am not talking about the opinion stuff, but when someone is in charge of or shadowing a legislative dossier that impacts here, there should be a connection set up with a sectoral committee. It might be the person who initiates that or someone else. I might want to initiate it for example. I am shadowing the accessibility Act, which is legislative, and 883, which is a hugely important document. Who do I contact? I am a bit like Henry Kissinger who asked "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?". Who do I contact to get feedback from a relevant committee on that issue? That is the first question.

I will not talk about Brexit because a great deal has been said. I agree with everything that has been said. I do not want to be party political, but if one were to rely on the newspapers, one would think the only people who worked on this were from the Government. I accept that they did a great deal of good work. Equally, however, a lot of people in the Parliament put huge effort into this to ensure that Parliament's resolution was as positive as it is. That is never recognised. People think we are a talking shop in the Parliament and that we do not do a great deal more. I will not get into that debate. We have heard enough about it.

I agree with Ming that we need to discuss the White Paper because it is out there. Deputy Haughey asked about some of the reflection papers. The one on globalisation was discussed the week before last in the Parliament and I spoke on it. Indeed, I raised the issue of the trade deals and the recent judgment from the ECJ which did not make a judgment on the rights and wrongs in relation to these investment courts. That has yet to come. Thankfully, the Belgian Parliament sent that to the ECJ. The court said that all member states had to agree individually to the inclusion of the investor court in any trade deal. That is an issue the committee will be discussing here.

To finish with the White Paper, it requires discussion. It must be a reasonable discussion in which we look at all of the options. People will have various options but within the next year or two we could be on that road. We may not be, but we could be. The Oireachtas needs to discuss it as well. They have also come forward with a lot of policies under the social pillar. To mention one or two, they came forward with a work-life balance directive which, for the first time ever, proposed a carer's leave directive and parental paternity leave. That is the package under the social pillar, of which there are five different aspects. That is ongoing and being debated at length in the Parliament. I am not sure, however, whether people are aware of it.

Deputy Martin Kenny referred to the EU as an elite club. I have been an MEP for 13 years and as I sit here I wonder if this is my fault. Am I not doing enough to tell people what happens at European level? Am I not meeting enough people and going to enough schools? Am I failing to engage? Without blowing my own trumpet, and I presume it is the same for everyone here, I could not do more than I do. Is there is a democratic deficit and do people see it as an elite club or is it just a phrase people use? All MEPs engage extensively nationally and throughout their constituencies. There are only 11 of us, however. If we are going to say that, we have to be able to say what more needs to be done to bridge the gap.