Ms Noelle O'Connell:

I thank the Deputies and Senators for the invitation to appear once again in front of this committee. In the past 18 months I have had the opportunity of presenting to this committee on a number of occasions and today I would like to build on some of the issues I have previously discussed as well as looking forward towards 2013 in a more general European context. I intend to focus my initial remarks on the latest findings of EM Ireland's 2011 accountability report, copies of which members should have before them, before moving on to discuss the upcoming Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the designation by the EU of 2013 as European Year of Citizens.

As many of you will be aware, EM Ireland is a not-for-profit, voluntary, membership-based organisation founded in 1954. We aim to provide a robust, fair and reasoned voice on European matters in Ireland through increasing awareness and understanding of European issues. We also strive to publicise opportunities presented by the EU and the potential ramification of legislation which is constantly evolving at a European level. We develop this interaction by promoting accountability at an Irish and European political level, educating on EU issues, informing business of EU opportunities and working with non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and citizens. In keeping with one of our founding aims, we are committed to ensuring increased engagement by the Irish people with the EU.

I must apologise in advance for the heavy use of statistics in my upcoming presentation but our accountability report serves to outline, through measuring in statistical terms, key indicators tracking Ireland's engagement with the EU on a number of different levels. Our 2011 report follows on from the success of the inaugural 2010 accountability report. Our report 2011 is based on monthly analysis of nine key indicators whereby we extended and refined the systems used to identify, track and store the relevant data. Data integrity was of central importance in the compilation of this report and much time was dedicated to ensuring that tracking the information took place using only mathematical systems, thereby decreasing any opportunity for subjectivity. It is crucial to point out at this stage that although the accountability report 2011 endeavours to track Ireland's engagement with the EU throughout the calendar year, that is, from 1 January 2011 to December 2011, the general election that took place in Ireland on 25 February 2011 resulted in a change of Administration and some subsequent structural changes. Therefore, for the purposes of a number of the indicators in this report, tracking only began after the 31st Dáil was in session, that is, after 9 March 2011. This is highlighted where relevant in each chapter.

Essentially, we focused on the following four principle areas: European Council and Councils of the EU; European Parliament level of engagement; pre-legislative input; and Oireachtas engagement. Overall average Irish ministerial attendance at the meetings of the Councils of the European Union stood at 86%, with either a lead Minister or Minister of State attending 61 out of a total of 71 meetings that took place once the 31st Dáil was in session in 2011. This is an increase of 9% from the data recorded from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 in European Movement Ireland's accountability report 2010, where the overall ministerial attendance rate recorded for the full calendar year was 77%.

In a new departure from our 2010 report and based on suggestions and feedback, we compared Irish attendance to that of our EU counterparts with Ireland coming second best in terms of overall attendance in 2011. The Czech Republic came first with an impressive 96%. We found it particularly interesting to note that when comparing Ireland to other EU countries who are in EU-IMF programmes, Ireland had the highest average ministerial attendance rate with 86%, Greece had an average ministerial attendance rate of 63% and Portugal's rate stood at 55%. Much like his predecessor, former Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, the current Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, attended every one of the seven European Council meetings which took place after 9 March 2011. General affairs, environment and justice and home affairs councils all enjoyed a 100% attendance record by Irish Ministers under the 31st Dáil in 2011. As it stands, eight out of ten Council configurations have an average Irish ministerial attendance record of 80% or higher, compared to four out of ten in 2010.

In respect of European Parliament engagement, overall Irish MEP attendance at plenary sessions of the Parliament decreased by 1% since 2010, which may be attributable to the fact that MEPs were campaigning in the two elections that took place in Ireland in 2011, namely, the general election and the presidential election. As this committee will appreciate, attendance is a static measure recorded on a roll call but is not in itself a dynamic measure of engagement, standing, impact and influence, which are, admittedly, far more difficult to quantify. In Parliament, Irish MEPs asked 683 parliamentary questions in 2011, dropping from just under 1,000 in 2010. Conversely, Irish MEPs made a total of 727 speeches in 2011, which is an increase of 100 from the previous year. There is Irish MEP representation on 14 of the 20 standing committees. The workload of^: these committees differs greatly from those of Oireachtas committees and we see that five reports were drawn up by an Irish MEP acting as rapporteur. Irish MEPs are represented on 15 out of 41 parliamentary delegations to places such as China, Palestine and the USA. It is important to note that, in addition to sitting on parliamentary committees and delegations, most Irish MEPs are also members of a range of intergroups dealing with specialised interest areas such as disability, the media or trade unions. Our report merely touches upon the workload of an MEP but we used the most scientific barometers at our disposal.

In terms of Oireachtas engagement, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs met a total of 17 times between 9 March 2011 and 31 December 2011 under the 31st Dáil. The attendance record of members of the committee under the 31st Dáil from 9 March 2011 to 31 December 2011 was 71%. This is an increase of over 10% from the data recorded in EM Ireland's accountability report 2010, where the overall attendance figures for both the European affairs committee and the European scrutiny committee were 58% and 55%, respectively. As per the programme for Government; pre-Council briefings took place on just three out of the 11 general affairs meetings that took place between 9 March 2011 and 31 December 2011, which represents 27%. However, it must be noted that for four of the General Affairs Council meetings, the committee was not yet in place.

On the question of pre-legislative input, from the 23 consultations reviewed for this report, the percentage of the total submissions that originated in Ireland ranges from 0% to 5%; with an average of 0.9%. This represents a decrease of 0.7% from the 2010 average of 1.6%, as calculated by similar analysis carried out in the accountability report 2010. To put this in context, the Taxation and Customs Union Directorate-General received a total of 1,726 consultations on its green paper on VAT, with just two coming from Ireland, which is a mere 0.1% of the total. From an Irish perspective, there is a clear opportunity for business sectors, civil society, NGOs and public opinion to have a stronger input into this stage of the European legislative procedure. EM Ireland looks forward to playing a leading role in facilitating this enhanced engagement. This finding is one that we feel we all have a duty to help improve and forms an important part of EM Ireland's activities for 2013.

One of the principal aims of EM Ireland is to facilitate debate and provide information on the Irish-EU relationship. This report does this by analysing the level of transparency and accountability at both a national and European level so that Irish citizens can see how we are being represented by our elected officials. I am happy to report that we have collated most of our data for 2012. As part of our ongoing efforts to incorporate feedback and improve the findings and promote the transparency and accountability objectives of the report, we have begun to look more deeply at the workload of MEPs, including their attendance in committee, their work producing opinions and shadowing reports, as well as their membership of outside bodies. Our 2012 report will also look more closely and in greater depth at the workings of other European bodies such as the Council of Europe, the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee and the OECD. We hope to launch our 2012 report in April or May of 2013, details of which we will notify to this committee

As per our Presidency countdown clock on our new website, in less than 20 days, on New Year's Eve, the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs will take part in a ceremony in Dublin Castle to mark the beginning of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For the first six months of 2013, our small country will be at the centre of decision making in Europe, helping to shape policies and drive forward legislation that will impact on the futures of over 500 million EU citizens. Hosting the Presidency is an important role for any member state. It involves a great deal of responsibility, as well as an increased workload for the Government, as the host nation must undertake a number of functions that are essential for the smooth operation of the European Union as a whole. This will be Ireland's seventh time to hold the Presidency, having last held it in 2004. Ireland is unlikely to hold the Presidency again for another 17 years. The year 2013 also marks the 40th anniversary of Ireland's EU membership, in addition to 2013 being designated as European Year of Citizens. All of the above is taking place against the backdrop of The Gathering as well.

I am confident that many of the policy issues that will dominate the Irish Presidency have been discussed in detail in this forum so I will not focus on them. For European Movement Ireland, we intend to take a very serious role seeking to develop a connection between the ordinary people of Ireland with the Presidency and also European Year of Citizens 2013. The next 12 months, and the first half of 2013 in particular, will be a very important time in our organisation's history and for our members. In addition to our regular programmes and campaigns such as accountability which I have outlined here, Blue Star for primary schools and our work in the wider education sector, we will be ramping up significantly our communications and information dissemination campaigns and programmes. We will continue to report on the discussions of this committee as well as increasing our Just the Factspublications, where we attempt to explain and report on EU developments on specific topics such as CAP, for example, in as clear and jargon-free a manner as possible, which as members will know is not an easy task sometimes.

In advance of the Presidency we have already hosted a series of briefings for our members, the business community, NGOs and civic society groups detailing the challenges and plans that lie ahead for 2013. As part of our outreach programme, we are running a number of pre-Presidency briefings in some of Ireland's large digital companies where the Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, has very kindly given of her time to meet staff and brief them on Ireland's plans for the Presidency and to field their questions. These lunchtime seminars have been highly successful and we intend to continue to roll these out through the course of the Presidency with the support of the Minister of State and her colleagues.

We are also delighted that many of the 26 ambassadors from other EU member states have agreed to take part in a series of regional town hall meetings where they will be able to discuss the European Year of Citizens, the Irish Presidency, how it is being perceived in their own countries and how the policy decisions being made will impact individual member states. Given that the significant majority of the official Presidency events will be taking place in the greater Dublin area, our series of regional town hall meetings are about reclaiming the debate and aim to ensure that Irish people throughout the country have an opportunity to make their voices heard. We hope to work with Members of the Oireachtas as part of this series of regional outreach activities throughout the country.

On 1 February next year, we are partnering with Group III of the European Economic Social Committee to host a high-level conference in Castleknock marking 40 years of Irish membership of the EU, entitled, "The Benefits, Opportunities and Challenges of EU Membership", and a working group meeting will be held in Eurofound in Loughlinstown the following day. On 24 and 25 May over 200 colleagues from the different European Movement councils will attend the EM International Federal Assembly in Dublin Castle. For the next year, we will continue to organise a series of high-level Presidency update review sessions for the community voluntary sector, the general public and our members. We will also be partnering with the Leuven Institute in Belgium in organising a high-level event at the institute which will be a review from Brussels of the Irish Presidency developments. Thanks to the Leargas facilitated and European Commission funded Youth in Action programme, we will run our youth media and the Irish Presidency project which seeks to find 25 young citizen journalists aged 18 to 25, from each corner of Ireland, to cover the Ireland's Presidency. The young citizen journalists chosen to participate in the programme will have access to official Presidency events. Participants will report on these events in any medium they wish, be it print, blog, video, photography as well as the full range of ever expanding social media platforms.

As mentioned previously, 2013 has been declared the European Year of Citizens and in that context, the first task for all 25 participants of our youth media and the Irish Presidency project will be to cover the official launch of the European Year of Citizens 2013 in Dublin City Hall on 10 January. The year will be officially launched by the President of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, along with the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, and the Tánaiste, Deputy Eamon Gilmore. Supported by the European Commission and the Department of the Taoiseach, this event will be followed by a citizens' dialogue organised by European Movement Ireland. At the citizens' dialogue; Vice-President of the European Commission, Vivianne Reding, and the Minister of State for European affairs, Deputy Creighton, will engage in a frank and open exchange of opinions with 200 citizen guests on the current economic crisis, the rights of European citizens and the future of the EU.

According to the European Commission proposal, the purpose of the European Year of Citizens 2013 is to facilitate EU citizens exercising their right to move and reside freely within the European Union by ensuring they can easily access information about their rights. It is worth spelling out the specific purposes of the European Year of Citizens, namely: to raise citizens' awareness of their right to reside freely within the European Union and how they can benefit from EU rights and policies; to stimulate their active participation in Union policy-making; and to stimulate debate about the impact and potential of the right to free movement, in particular in terms of strengthening cohesion and people's mutual understanding of one another. European Movement Ireland looks forward to playing an active part in the events of this year. We are keen to engage as many partners as possible in order to further the discussion of Europe and European issues during the Presidency and European Year of Citizens. For our organisation, it will certainly be important to have done our utmost to ensure that the legacy of both next year's Irish Presidency and European Year of Citizens will have succeeded in enduring long past the end of the 2013 calendar year.

I welcome the views of this committee on our accountability campaign and the work of European Movement Ireland overall. My colleagues and I look forward to continuing to work with the committee over the upcoming 13 months at this busy but exciting time in Irish-EU relations.