Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the former Taoiseach. He is well recognised as having unparalleled negotiating skills in terms of the peace process, the Good Friday Agreement and all he achieved in his time as Taoiseach of our country. Today, we are discussing his role in the expansion of the European Union.

I am interested in his thoughts on future enlargement. He spoke about the essentials needing to be met, including the rule of law, functioning democracies and there being no corruption in any candidate country. For political reasons, Ukraine's accession process was accelerated. Does Mr. Ahern expect that to have consequences for other applicant countries? Might they argue that concessions were made and due diligence was not carried through in allowing Ukraine to become an accession member state? I would like to hear his thoughts in this regard.

One of the key positives of the EU is from a trading perspective, with the free movement of goods. For a small, open economy like Ireland, the ability to trade to such a large market was very welcome. The free movement of people was also very welcome at the time. One area in which we have not realised the full potential of the EU is the whole services area. This would include, for example, accessing cheaper mortgages in other European countries, investing in European banks that pay higher interest rates or accessing cheaper insurance. More work needs to be done in this area by every Government to ensure the full access to services is expanded.

One of the aspects of EU membership that was always seen as positive was the free movement of people. Of course, it is one of the reasons the UK left the EU. Migration is becoming a very pertinent issue in every country. I am interested in Mr. Ahern's opinion in this regard. I agree with his statement that we need to be firm but fair. The Irish people are decent, honourable people who want to help legitimate asylum seekers. However, we do not want to be seen as being easily exploited. I do not know whether Mr. Ahern is familiar with the EU's migration pact. Does he think we are better working together on this issue to ensure we get it right into the future?

I was not going to ask the next question but Mr. Ahern alluded to it just before I spoke. I refer to our loss of an ally since the UK left the EU. What does he think the Government should be doing to compensate for the loss of that ally as we move forward?