Ms Noelle O'Connell:

We could not possibly comment on the implementation of the protocol, but we are members of the EU's Trade and Cooperation Agreement domestic advisory group. That is a very useful and important forum in which we make an input and work to try to mitigate the challenges and difficulties posed by Brexit. This is something we take very seriously. It has come across in all of our engagements with this committee that there is a body of work to be done on the communication and explanation of the information to aid and increase greater understanding of the protocol both North and South and, in particular, east and west as well. It is something that we will continue to do in our engagement work.

Deputy Richmond is correct about the direction of the EU and the Conference on the Future of Europe, and how we could perhaps increase the percentage of people in this country who believe the EU is moving in the right direction. There are certainly some areas of the conference outcome and recommendations on which we feel more could be done. The Deputy mentioned health competencies in particular. A very interesting suggestion that came across not only in my own digital transformation working group work but also in the health working group was that the Covid vaccine pass and other such information could be uploaded very simply onto the European health insurance card. That is a very practical measure that I hope can be examined. There are many very good initiatives in terms of digital literacy and ensuring that no one is left behind, including having broadband access across the EU, financial literacy skills and how we combat misinformation and disinformation. These are all very practical initiatives that came across from the conference that I hope will provide ideas for committee members, as elected representatives, to look to lead on initiatives and champion them. We have seen that the desire and input are there. It is very encouraging that people want to shape and influence what direction the European Union takes.

Treaty change and referendums are issues that we touched upon in our engagement this morning. We do not believe treaty change should be a starting off point but, as Senator Chambers and Deputy Haughey stated, we have to be mindful of it. We should not fear it, if it makes the European Union function more effectively. However, there are mechanisms in place that can be used to make the EU more efficient and effective and do not necessarily necessitate treaty change. We do not want to see an institutional tug-of-war take place over the EU's strategic direction. There are areas I mentioned such as the Passerelle clause. We should not just look for treaty change for the sake of it. As we saw, there are always ways around some of the challenges. We saw that with the approach taken during the Covid vaccine crisis, the health crisis and the fiscal compact. There is precedent. There is flexibility within the current treaties to accommodate individual positions, as we know only too well in Ireland. We think some of the outcomes from the Conference on the Future of Europe process can be implemented and driven forward without too great a difficulty. That is something that we are very strongly calling on all parties to the conference process to drive forward. As we mentioned, we cannot afford to have an erosion of trust and confidence in the European Union and in the participatory parliamentary democracy process. That would not benefit anyone. What we have seen is that, politically, we have a more united European Union, one that represents the values on which it was founded. We want to make sure that is maintained.