Frank O'Rourke (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief as I have to leave for another meeting. I welcome the Minister of State and wish her the very best in her new role. I had a number of opportunities to engage with her in her previous role and I found her to be extremely engaging, effective, courteous and co-operative. I am sure they will be very valuable assets in the role she is taking on, which no doubt will be challenging. Like all good Meath people, I am sure she is up for the challenge. It is important that she uses the role effectively to continue to build on the relations we have with our EU colleagues, which will help Ireland, as a small island, in so many important areas such as trade and business that are crucial to the economy.

I wish to focus briefly on two areas. I agree with my colleagues that sometimes the perception of Europe is negative and that is probably based on the fact that when various policies affect people negatively, then everything is blamed on Europe. Much remains to be done to improve the perception of Europe among Irish citizens. Most of the people I meet who have any interest in the various European policies that affect the country have a somewhat negative view. That is unfortunate because Europe has been very positive for the country as well. That is something that must be examined.

We must promote trade and commercial activity, especially in light of Brexit. That would be very important for the economy and the country. It is important to ensure that exports to and via the UK are taken into account because that activity is relevant to the economy. I wish the Minister of State the very best and I look forward to further engagements with her.