Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before I make a few comments, I will explain that Senators Craughwell and Coghlan and Deputy O'Rourke were here but had to leave. It is not disrespectful; it is merely that the Seanad was resuming and they had to attend.

I welcome Ms Noelle O'Connell, the director of European Movement Ireland, the ambassadors and many others in the Public Gallery. I particularly welcome another important group of people from the greater Beaufort area just outside of Killarney, which, of course, everybody knows is the tourism capital of the world and the finest place in the nation that anybody could be from.

I thank Dr. Day for attending the committee. She discussed her view that the Oireachtas has a further role to play in alliance building. Are there any ways that she feels this committee could contribute to this?

The committee regularly meets stakeholders. On Tuesday mornings, for example, I meet ambassadors from all over Europe, as well as with other officials. I relay the contents of those meetings to the committee members. I believe building alliances, friendships and relationships is what politics is all about. As we discussed earlier, if our neighbours across the water were as good at talking at length as we are, they might not have found themselves in their present mess.

We have to mind our backs because of what is happening over there. We deal with visiting parliamentary delegations. Are there any other ways we could further use our platform to build alliances with other member states, as well as with our citizens, to create positivity about Europe? As Dr. Day knows from her important position, there seems to be a negative attitude towards Europe. When something goes wrong, it is deemed to be the fault of those politicians in Europe. Can we turn that around, especially in light of seeing what our neighbours across the water have done by backing themselves into a corner? Can we use that in some way to shore ourselves up?

The EU 26 has expressed strong support for Ireland and our position in the Brexit negotiations, often demonstrating a deep understanding of Ireland and its challenges. Does Dr. Day believe there are opportunities to build upon this wave of support? Much of the work on alliance building has been focused on government level and established diplomatic channels. We are interested in expanding this and looking at the important role parliamentarians can play in alliance building. The committee participates in COSAC, the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union, and other interparliamentary groupings which are valuable fora for networking with parliamentarians from other EU member states. We meet stakeholders and visiting delegations. Our committee members are proactive and workmanlike in their job. Will Dr. Day recommend how we can further develop our existing interparliamentary networks?

Is there a risk that focusing on alliances between individual member states could contribute to perceived divisions within the EU, such as geographical divisions or divisions between established and newer member states? Is this an opportunity to move away from this? Alliances start with understanding. Are there any particular member states which Dr. Day believes Ireland could understand better? Does she see us falling down in our role in any of this?

Most think of alliances as only those between countries. However, we are interested in how understandings and co-operation can be better developed between other stakeholders, such as trade unions, farming organisations and various interest groups. Does Dr. Day believe these organisations, working with their European peers, can contribute to improved knowledge? All politicians, whether they are county councillors, Senators or Deputies, know of the valuable contribution that the likes of, for example, the IFA, the ICMSA, the Irish Hotels Federation and others working in the tourism sector make. Councillors, Senators and Deputies have built up expertise from years of work, traipsing up and down the country going to meetings, listening to the people involved in farming or tourism about their issues and concerns.

Local and European elections will be held in May. I have no agenda in promoting or not promoting political parties. I do not care from what party people person comes, provided they are good workers. That is all I am interested in. They can be Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, Independent or Sinn Féin. If they are workers, I am behind them. If they are not, it does not matter what stamp they have on their back because they are no good in my book. Either one is a worker or one is not. Can we use our MEPs more? I see a lack of connectivity between our MEPs. It is no disrespect to them as individuals. I do not mean to say anything disparaging about them. Citizens, irrespective of whether they vote, think of MEPs as being away over in Europe, having nothing to do with them. They do, however, have much to do with us. Dr. Day, more than anyone else in this room, knows that because of her impressive work history. Can we create a greater engagement not just between Members and MEPs but between the citizens? It is the citizens who are the bosses and who we must represent. After the May elections, I hope there will be greater engagement at ground level and people would be able to see something from their politicians in Europe.