Ms Barbara Nolan:

It is not just telecommunications. There are other aspects to the digital economy. It includes all of the people who work in the docklands area of Dublin, mainly in American companies. We must let Europe know that Ireland is at the leading edge and we need to get Europe up there with the big players.

With regard to the Roma strategy, there have been many attempts to connect the various issues that affect the Roma, who can be found in large numbers in several member states. It is a very difficult problem to solve. It is also a very old problem. There have been attempts to channel structural funds to particular areas in order to raise their standard of living, improve their education and so on. The European Commission's justice department manages the issue. I understand that Roma issues are managed by the Department of Justice and Equality in Ireland, but many other Departments feed into it, because Roma issues includes housing, education and lots of other things.

My organisation shares the committee's view on undeclared sources of revenue. We have tried to close tax loopholes and we can now exchange information on savings. We want to progress the initiative further in order to ensure that people with satchels full of money, as mentioned earlier, have nowhere to run or hide. We are also trying to close off all loopholes in that area. As the committee will know, tax evasion has been discussed at the highest level in Europe and it is an ongoing project for us.

It is not the job of the European External Action Service to reinforce border security; that is the job of the FRONTEX agency. Security is a difficult area and we must rely on co-operation between member states and third countries. FRONTEX is a small operation at present - although it may grow in the future - and it is not equipped to carry out all of the work. Security is very important and will become more important as more and more people are forced to flee situations that occur outside of the EU region. Border security is a high priority.

With regard to neighbourhood policy, the Eastern Partnership summit will take place at the end of the month and I understand that the Taoiseach will attend. We still do not know whether Ukraine will attend, but a lot of high-level negotiations are taking place. Developing the Eastern Partnership is a priority for the Lithuanian Presidency and the Union at present. It is also a priority to develop other forms of co-operation between neighbouring countries in the European Union.

I agree with Deputy Durkan that we must make the youth guarantee work. Member states have signed up to the guarantee and we rely on them to deliver on their promise. The EU organisation can deliver what it can, but each member state must live up to the commitment it gave to young people under 25 years.

The matter of continuity was raised by the Chairman. It is true that one arm of the European institutions, the Parliament, will undergo significant change for a couple of months. Nevertheless, the current Commission will continue in office until a new one is appointed, thus ensuring continuity. The same applies to the post held by Mr. Van Rompuy, who shall remain in office until his replacement is appointed. There is continuity and the show must go on. The civil service still exists. I reassure the committee that business will continue, although there will be a little hiatus in decision-making.