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

I thank Ms Möller for making her research available to us. It is very useful. This committee decided to examine the issue of alliances because of Brexit. We felt that with the UK leaving the European Union we are losing an ally across a wide range of areas, taxation being just one of them. This research is particularly interesting from that point of view. Last month, Ireland published its national statement regarding the future of Europe, and big decisions will be taken at the June meeting of the European Council on the strategic agenda and the future of Europe. As regards our national statement, our priorities are very much linked to Ms Möller's research with regard to the completion of the Single Market, the completion of the digital single market and so forth. Will Ms Möller clarify the background to her research? Is she giving us the views of the governments of the member states? How do those views coincide with the views of citizens? Is there separate research regarding the views of citizens? I suspect there is a disconnect, for all sorts of reasons. That is an important question and it would be interesting to know the answer. It appears that Ms Möller's research and our national statement coincide so obviously both have fed into each other. However, is some research taking place on the views of the citizens of Europe as well?