Mr. Maurice Pratt:

I thank the Chairman and distinguished members of the committee for the invitation to attend today's proceedings to discuss the future of Europe and, in particular, the five scenarios outlined in the European Commission's White Paper on the subject. I am chairman of European Movement Ireland. It was founded in 1954 and is Ireland’s longest established not-for-profit membership organisation dedicated solely to European issues.

I will start by congratulating the joint committee for engaging with this important and timely future of Europe debate. The input of national politicians and institutions on European issues is a crucial bridge between citizens and the EU. Through being an engaged member state, willing to hold sessions such as this in our national Parliament, Ireland can amplify and attach greater significance to our voice in the EU. Reasoned and robust debate on how we, as Irish and EU citizens, would want a reforming EU to look is important. This helps us to formulate our views and thoughts on these multifaceted issues, thereby progressing the European-wide debate in the process.

As an organisation, European Movement Ireland is increasingly concerned about the need for greater debate on this topic in Ireland. Given that Ireland will be the remaining member state most adversely affected by the UK decision to leave the EU, the Irish focus has understandably been on Brexit. However, we must remember that the focus in many of the other EU member states is more on the future of Europe process. Indeed, only last week we saw an example of this in President Macron’s widely covered speech. We must ensure that we do not let Brexit completely define our vision on the future of Europe. Let us have those conversations as to how the EU will develop. For example, where do we stand on potential pan-European voting lists in the upcoming 2019 European Parliament elections? How do we feel about more European integration in the area of security and defence? How do we see the future functioning of the eurozone?

These are wide-ranging and critical questions. It is crucial that we in Ireland interrogate our views on these issues and more. They directly affect all of us and if we want to have a say on their development, we must first of all be clear on our position. Ireland’s future remains steadfastly in the EU, but there is a responsibility on all of us to ensure that we do not miss the opportunity to engage in this ongoing, live debate and how we in Ireland wish to influence it. European Movement Ireland commissioned Red C to conduct a national Irish EU sentiment survey in May, around Europe Day, aimed at tracking and measuring Ireland's relationship with Europe. This year, it found that 88% of those polled think Ireland should remain in the EU, and these numbers are highest in the younger generations - 90% of young people feel Ireland’s future continues to remain in the EU. On the question of whether Ireland should also leave the EU, given the UK has voted to leave, it is notable that only 16% of Irish people agreed with this statement. Back in 2013, in the first of these polls, that figure stood at 29%. Interestingly, when asked whether "Ireland should be part of increased security and defence co-operation", 57% of those polled agreed that it should be.

These figures illustrate that there is no real public appetite for Ireland to leave the EU. Therefore, rather than focusing on a binary question of Ireland's EU membership, it would better serve our national interests to actively feed into and shape the European Union of which we will be remaining a part. Time is of the essence and we need not to shy away from this debate.

While it is necessary and important to critique and evaluate our EU relationship, to put it quite bluntly, EU membership is not the political behemoth that it is in the UK. As we know, it is the fundamental issues which the future of Europe process is currently raising that requires more informed debate and frank discussion. In the context of the importance of this debate, I will now pass over to Ms Noelle O'Connell, who will speak about those issues