Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our witnesses for their enlightening presentations. There is quite a bit of detail to go through. I have two or three questions for Mr. Kiely, two for Ms O'Connell and then one question for both witnesses. I will try to keep the questions as concise as possible.

Will Mr. Kiely give us some detail regarding how much PPE is in stock, or has been stockpiled? Regarding cross-border co-operation, have the EU and the European commission played any specific role in that context? We have seen reports of Germany taking in patients from other countries and Romanian medical staff going to Italy in the early part of the crisis. I ask that question because cross-Border co-operation poses a very specific challenge on this island, where Northern Ireland is starting to run out of spaces for ICU patients. Even though Northern Ireland is part of the UK, which has technically left the EU, we obviously have a moral obligation to provide support where we can and if possible. What role is the EU playing in that area, if any? My last question for Mr. Kiely concerns the €750 billion European recovery fund. Has any consideration been given at a European level for the non-Covid-19 aspects? I refer to what impact Brexit might have on Ireland, for example, and how that might impinge on Ireland's ability to draw down other funds.

Turning to Ms O'Connell, she went into some detail on the traffic light system. There has been much talk on that subject, but drawing on her engagement with and analysis of the situation across the EU, does Ms O'Connell think there has been real engagement by the member states in this traffic light system? Has there been buy-in into that system, or is it just a conceptual idea at this stage? My next question for Ms O'Connell leads into a question for both witnesses concerning citizens' demands. I refer to the less than favourable impression of the EU's initial response to the pandemic, and how that has changed and progressed in recent months. That leads us to the question of to what extent do health competences need to change. Mr. Kiely finished his presentation very pertinently on this aspect and Ms O'Connell also referred to this matter.

This topic feeds not just into this discussion about the pandemic, but also into the future work and discussions of this committee regarding the future of Europe and the conference on the future of Europe. What capacity do the witnesses think there is for changing competences across the EU, bearing in mind the changes that might require a new treaty or treaty changes, and especially given our country's history with treaty changes in various referendums. I have no great appetite to go out campaigning in a referendum any time soon. I have no great appetite to go campaigning for anything at the moment, and that also presents its own difficulties. That is something, however, we need to bear in mind more broadly, beyond the pandemic, when we talk about the future of our union. The UK has left, but there are many changes and challenges about which we must question whether the treaties of the Union and the Union itself are up to scratch in dealing with.