Mr. Neale Richmond:

I thank the Chairman, Deputies and Senators for asking us to attend again. My role here is to take members through our 2012 accountability report, which is found in the yellow book they have in front of them.

Two weeks ago, we produced the third annual edition of the accountability report. Throughout 2012, European Movement Ireland measured a number of key indicators tracking Ireland’s engagement with the EU at a variety of levels. Our 2012 accountability report is based on a monthly analysis of 31 key indicators and builds on the work of the previous editions, extending and refining 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. The report’s findings are based on statistical information that is both quantifiable and available as a matter of public record. The accountability report is an organic document, and we go to great lengths to engage with elected representatives, officials and members of the public to deepen the report as much as possible.

Essentially, we focused on six principal areas: European Council and Councils of the EU; European Parliament engagement; pre-legislative input to the European Commission; Oireachtas engagement; other European institutions; and the fiscal stability treaty referendum campaign.I will begin with the European Council and Councils of the EU. Average Irish ministerial attendance at meetings of the Councils of the European Union in 2012 stood at 97%, with either a lead Minister or a Minister of State attending 72 out of a total of 74 Council meetings. This is an increase of 11% from the data recorded under the 31st Dáil in 2011, and leaves Ireland in second position, behind Sweden and Poland which are joint first at 99%. Eight out of ten EU Councils in 2012 had an Irish ministerial attendance rate of 100%. Only two Councils, the Foreign Affairs Council, FAC, and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, ECOFIN, have less than perfect attendance rates, at 92% each.
I move to European Parliament engagement. Average Irish MEP attendance at plenary sessions of the European Parliament stands at 83% for 2012. This is a decrease of 2% from statistics recorded in the accountability report for 2011. Irish MEPs raised 455 parliamentary questions in 2012 - a 50% drop from the 683 questions raised in 2011, and a further drop from just under 1,000 questions raised in 2010. During 2012, Irish MEPs made a total of 365 speeches, a decrease of 33% compared with the 2011 figure of 727 speeches. Average Irish MEP attendance at parliamentary committee meetings stands at 76% for 2012. Irish MEPs also acted as substitute members at 24% of committee meetings in 2012. During 2012, Irish MEPs spoke 249 times during committee. This is a new indicator and therefore there are no comparisons available for 2011. There is Irish representation on 14 of the 20 standing committees and on one special committee, which began its work in March 2012. Each of the Irish MEPs is a member or a substitute member of at least two committees. The Agriculture and Rural Development Committee has the highest level of representation from an Irish MEP perspective. In 2012, two reports were drawn up by an Irish rapporteur and four opinions were drafted up by an Irish rapporteur. 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 inter-group dealing with specialised interest areas such as disability, 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 36 times in 2012. The attendance rate for members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs during 2012 was 64%, a decrease of 7% from the overall attendance rate recorded under the 31st Dáil in 2011. Of the 74 Council meetings that took place during 2012, 25, or 34%, had pre-Council briefings in front of the relevant Oireachtas committee. Of the 11 General Affairs Council meetings that took place during 2012, seven had pre-Council briefings before the Committee on European Union Affairs. Based on this analysis, 64%, or seven out of 11 General Affairs Council meetings were preceded by a pre-Council briefing to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. This represents an increase on the previous calendar year’s rate of 27%.
I refer to the European Commission and pre-legislative input. Individual, business and civil society input into the pre-legislative stage of EU policy formation increased by 0.5% in 2012 when compared with the 2011 figures. Of the 51 European Commission consultations reviewed for this year’s accountability report, the percentage of total submissions that originated in Ireland in 2012 ranged from 0% to 4.75%, with an average of 1.4 %.

This year, to broaden the spectrum of the report, we decided to also look at Irish engagement with other European institutions. We detailed the role and workings of the Committee of the Regions, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Council of Europe and the OSCE. We also looked at the following statistical indicators. The Irish attendance rate at plenary sessions of the Committee of the Regions in 2012 was 94%, which compares with the overall attendance rate of 79%. In 2012, there were 30 Commission meetings of the Committee of the Regions. Each Irish member is a member of two Commissions, although in some cases an alternative will attend meetings if he or she has a particular expertise. The Irish attendance rate for Commissions was 97%, which compares favourably with the overall attendance rate of 82%.

The Irish delegation had an 80% rate of attendance at plenary sessions of the EESC in 2012. Irish attendance at 2012 plenary sessions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stood at 60%. Attendance at plenary sessions of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Europe by Irish Members in 2012 stood at 75%. Irish attendance at the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE during Ireland’s presidency of the organisation in 2012 was 72%.

One of the principal aims of EM Ireland is to facilitate debate and provide information on the Irish-EU relationship. Our report does this by analysing the level of transparency and accountability at both national and European level so that Irish citizens can see how we are being represented by our elected officials. This report is an organic document. We have added a number of indicators this year and hope to develop the report even further ahead of next year. However, we are limited to using only indicators that are on the record which can be easily accessed by members of the public.