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

I thank Ms Emily O'Reilly for coming before the meeting. I think it was last year that she met members of the committee in Brussels and was very informative about the details of her work then. I welcome her more recent recommendations which all of us will support. We live in an age of openness, transparency and accountability. I will be devil's advocate for a moment. Through the years, European or even UK diplomacy involved wheeling and dealing and smoke-filled rooms, quiet diplomacy. Is Ms O'Reilly satisfied that as we move to this more open and transparent system that it will not hinder the objective of getting an outcome in terms of a deal or solution? It is mostly a philosophical question. I support the work that Ms O'Reilly does and the objectives she has outlined but will it hinder the Council's work in any way?

Another question which is not entirely related to Ms O'Reilly's work is a general issue in which she will be interested, namely the rise of illiberal tendencies in the European Union, in countries such as Poland, Hungary and so on, in terms of the freedom of the press, the appointment of judges and so forth. There are threats to European values and democratic norms. Is Ms O'Reilly concerned about that or does she feel that the EU can deal with that through its rules, mechanisms and so forth? In the course of her own experience, has Ms O'Reilly noticed a rise of such illiberal tendencies among the people she mixes with in Brussels, for instance? Is it something that we should be concerned about?