Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Good morning everyone, this is Dublin calling. It sounds like Eurovision. Apparently, the Chairman is going to buy the pints afterwards so I do not know how he is going to deliver them to the MEPs. I do not know how relevant my questions are. I welcome our witnesses, including my friend and colleague, Martina Anderson MEP. The first question is the most obvious one. How can we better support the work of our MEPs in the European Parliament, specifically their work on designated committees, and how can we improve engagement between them and the Oireachtas? I know it was a challenge previously. The day the Joint Committee on European Affairs met, we tried to tie in so it might be too soon to ask that question but we are all agreed that we want more serious engagement with MEPs so how can we facilitate that and the witnesses' work on various committees?

Do our MEPs believe the European Commissioner-designates will be supported by the European Parliament? Will they vote to support them and if not, why? What do they think about the decision by the President-elect von der Leyen, to create a vice president with responsibility for protecting our European way of life? Do they agree that this is the language of the far right and racist? Even Marine Le Pen endorsed the new portfolio calling it an ideological victory. What exactly is President-elect von der Leyen talking about when she refers to protecting our European way of life? That might tie in with some of the more controversial statements that have been made by Irish politicians about refugees.

That is also one of the major challenges facing Europe. I know Mick Wallace MEP would have been involved in going to Calais, and many of the MEPs have been interested in this issue. The number of refugees Ireland takes in compared with Italy, Greece and so on is a major challenge for Europe. If there is time, I would like one of the MEPs to comment on that.

The MEPs will have heard about the decision of the UK Supreme Court and people are calling for Prime Minister Johnson's resignation and so on, but Ireland is in a unique position. In fairness to all the previous MEPs, a lot of the groundwork has been done. Will the MEPs give us a sense of how they can work together on the Brexit issue?

Like Senator Leyden, I congratulate the MEPs on their election and I am looking forward to working with them in the future.