Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to condense my response and I can return to issues if necessary. We will have other opportunities for engagement. I thank all members for their good wishes. I also thank Deputy Dara Murphy for the work he has done in the role previously. I pay tribute to Malta on the role it has played in the previous Presidency and wish Estonia well in its Presidency.

I am certain that Ireland's place is within the EU, at the heart of it. In the most recent survey that was carried out approximately 88% of Irish people agree with that. That said, I agree with some of the comments made by members to the effect that sometimes people feel the things that go wrong in their everyday lives can be attributed to something that comes from Europe. Perhaps they do not often see the positive things that happen in Europe that have an impact on their lives. A body of work needs to be done in that regard.

Deputy Haughey spoke about the future of Europe, where we see ourselves and what route we are going to take. Ireland has always been ambitious and we will continue to be ambitious. No position has been decided on. At this stage, we need to look at all avenues and discuss matters in the committee and with the wider population. Just having public meetings is not enough. There must be a different type of engagement, whether it is online or through colleges or schools. I very much intend to start that process and to open up a dialogue because while Brexit is the biggest thing on our agenda, as Senator Richmond correctly said, it has happened and we must focus on that but what happens afterwards is also important and we must be very much prepared. I look forward to working with all of the members in that regard.

It is regrettable that we are where we are in the context of Brexit. It is not a decision Ireland or the other member states have made but we must deal with it and our priority will continue to focus on the Good Friday Agreement, the peace process and the work and effort that has gone into that. The Single Market and the customs union have played a key role because they automatically took down the existing barriers. We must ensure that we have as close a relationship as possible with the UK, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. We are talking about imaginative and flexible solutions. We do not know what they are just yet but we need to be realistic and look at all possibilities and eventualities. We owe citizens and industries that too.

One of the first engagements I had was to travel to Brussels with the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar. It was very clear from our engagements with the various Heads of State and Government that Ireland's specific situation is very much on their agenda. It has been very clearly laid out over the past year or year and a half through engagement at the level of civil servants and Ministers. That will continue. Our position is well known, particularly on the common travel area, which is unique to Ireland and the UK. It is in place since 1922 and other member states are very conscious of that. The work in that regard must continue. I have no doubt that will be the case. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, the Taoiseach and the Irish MEPs will continue to wear the green jersey, as it were.

We will be judged on how we deal with migration. It is an extremely difficult situation. While Brexit is our main priority, the further east one goes it becomes less of a priority and migration becomes more of an issue. As a country we have been very ambitious and we have put our best foot forward. Seven vessels have saved almost 18,000 people in the past two years. That clearly shows our commitment, as does the funding of €78 million that has been given to support refugees in Syria. Not only that, we have shown commitment to work with EU member states to try to get to the core of why those problems are happening, be they economic or related to climate change, war or persecution.

We have always been at the heart of peacekeeping. Reference was made to PESCO. We are not stopping other member states from following their own route in that regard. We have no plans to join NATO in the middle of the night but we are very much open to supporting the peacekeeping process and getting to the heart of what the problems are and why people are fleeing their own countries.

There are probably some other questions that I have not touched on but if I can I will come back to them again if there is another stage. I look forward to engaging with the committee.