Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 November 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs

General Affairs Council Meeting: Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

2:00 pm

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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We had a number of items of business to conduct in private session. Apologies for the late start to today's proceedings. We received apologies from Deputies Seán Crowe and Timmy Dooley. Before I kick off the proceedings, can I just remind witnesses, guests and Members to switch off their mobile telephones. It is not sufficient to put them onto silent mode. They could interfere with the broadcasting equipment and this is going out live on the Internet. Please turn off your telephones now.

On behalf of the committee I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Dara Murphy, to today's meeting. The Minister is here to discuss the forthcoming General Affairs Council meeting. We look forward to the Minister's comments.

Photo of Dara MurphyDara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I am very pleased to be here today. I apologise for the fact that due to diary constraints we were not able to schedule a meeting prior to the October General Affairs Council, GAC. However, I will provide the committee now with a brief update on discussions at that meeting and at the September General Affairs Council.

I will start with the October GAC. The focus of our attention last month was on preparations for the October European Council, which concentrated in particular on the climate and energy policy framework for 2030. During the Council, Ministers worked to whittle down the number of issues which would remain for decision by the Heads of State and Government.

As members will be aware, agreement on the framework was by no means a foregone conclusion, given the differing priorities and constraints of member states. We can be very pleased that an agreement was achieved at the European Council, and that the compromise text represents a successful outcome both for the European Union and for Ireland. As the Chairman will be aware, the Taoiseach briefed the Dáil on the detail of the agreement, as well as on Ireland’s approach to the negotiations, during his post-European Council statement on 5 November. At the October General Affairs Council, Ministers also held a short thematic debate on follow-up to the Union’s strategic agenda. This focused on implementation of the fourth chapter on freedom, security and justice. The UKprovided an update on efforts to secure agreement on its opting back in to certain EU policing and criminal justice measures, in tandem with a block opt-out on 1 December. I will return to this issue in more detail when I brief the committee on the November General Affairs Council agenda.
In addition, the future composition of the Committee of the Regions, to take account of the accession of Croatia, was discussed but this was inconclusive. Finally, Ministers agreed to mandate the Presidency to engage with the Commission and Parliament with a view to strengthening inter-institutional engagement on annual and multi-annual programming. Again, I will return to this issue shortly.
At the September GAC, in addition to an initial consideration of the October European Council agenda, Ministers held their first thematic debate on the follow up to the Union’s Strategic Agenda. The focus of the debate was on a union of jobs, growth and competitiveness. As we all know in this House and outside it, these are issues which are weighing heavily on the minds of European governments and our citizens, and which will feature prominently at the December European Council. Conclusions were adopted on an EU strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian regions, and Ministers also received an update on the work of the friends of the Presidency group on improving the functioning of the EU.
I will now turn to the agenda for this month’s General Affairs Council. I should clarify that my remarks will focus on the agenda for 18 November, which will be attended by Ministers with responsibility for European Affairs. On 19 November, I will also deputise for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin at the General Affairs Council cohesion meeting. This is a special formation of the GAC to allow Ministers responsible for cohesion policy to meet in formal session. However, as the committee will be aware, lead responsibility for cohesion policy continues to lie with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and his Department.
The regular General Affairs Council on 18 November will provide a first opportunity for the GAC to engage with the new First Vice President of the Commission, Mr. Frans Timmermans. Members will be aware of the new structure of the Commission. Vice President Timmermans has been given a key role in terms of inter-institutional relations, better regulation, rule of law and the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It will be very interesting to hear his perspectives on the General Affairs agenda specifically, and on how he intends to conduct his very important role.
Next week's GAC will begin preparations for the December European Council by reviewing the draft annotated agenda. We received the first draft of the agenda earlier this week and, as expected, the focus will be very much on economic and social policy. Discussions at the European Council will be informed by a number of key contributions expected over the coming weeks. First, the Commission will be producing its annual growth survey, marking the beginning of European semester 2015. The annual growth survey sets out the EU’s broad economic priorities for the year ahead and provides an important frame of reference for national economic and budgetary decisions.
Second, the EIB-Commission task force which was recently established to identify impediments to investment and to strengthen the investment project pipeline across Europe will report in December. This will be an important input to President Juncker’s plans for an ambitious jobs, growth and investment package, which aims to mobilise €300 billion in additional private and public investment in the real economy over the next three years and which he is expected to elaborate upon at the European Council.
Third, the Italian Presidency will be presenting a synthesis report in December on the political debates across the different Council configurations on the forthcoming mid-term review of the Europe 2020 Strategy. This will be produced for endorsement by the GAC in December in the first instance. Also, as the Committee will be aware, the new Commission will adopt an opinion by the end of this month on the draft budgetary plans submitted by the member states in October. Commission Vice President Katainen indicated on 29 October that, while not prejudging the final outcome, the Commission has not identified any cases of particularly serious non-compliance. I would be pleased to discuss these issues in more detail at our next meeting when we will have more information. Allow me to commend once again the tremendous work of this committee and its Chairman in contributing to the Commission’s public consultation on the Europe 2020 Strategy, including the sessions with key stakeholders which were held recently. The report launched here this morning represents an important milestone in terms of Oireachtas engagement on Europe 2020 and the European semester process in total.
In addition to economic issues, the European Council is scheduled to review the EU’s response to the Ebola virus crisis, following the significant ramping up of financial assistance pledged last month. Efforts to stem the flow of foreign fighters to conflicts such as those in Iraq and Syria will also be considered, and other external relations issues may be addressed in light of developments as they arise.
The second issue to be discussed by the GAC is an initiative to promote and ensure respect for the rule of law in the EU. This stems from a sense among member states that the EU could benefit from more open and honest discussions of the challenges within its own borders in upholding the fundamental values upon which the Union is based – the so-called "Copenhagen criteria". Given that the EU provides a benchmark, and indeed an anchor, for reforms in the area of rule of law in many third countries, it is important for our own credibility that the standards continue to be respected in EU member states.
The Committee may recall that this issue was reviewed at the GAC last March on the basis of a Commission communication on a new EU framework to strengthen the rule of law. Following an initial exchange of views, including legal questions raised, Council agreed to revert to the issue. The specific proposal to be considered by the GAC now is that the Council would play a central role in protecting the rule of law by promoting a transparent dialogue at political level amongst our member states. Ireland is supportive of such dialogue. I would recall that, during our Presidency, Ireland initiated a separate, though related, debate in the Justice and Home Affairs Council about protecting fundamental rights and enhancing the rule of law as a means of tackling the growth in hate crime, xenophobia and other forms of extreme intolerance across member states. The EU cannot afford to be complacent about these important issues.
The GAC will continue its series of thematic debates on the five overarching priorities of the EU's strategic agenda adopted at the June European Council, by looking this month at the third priority, "an energy union with a forward-looking climate policy". Building an affordable, secure and sustainable energy union is in all our interests.However, to ensure our energy future is under full control, it is essential that all three pillars of EU energy policy – security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability – are considered in the context of an EU energy union.

The completion of the internal energy market will be a key step towards energy union. In this regard, Ireland welcomes indications that Commission Vice President Šefèoviè intends to place particular emphasis on security of supply and solidarity among member states. The importance of integrating peripheral and poorly connected member states into the internal energy market is a key interest for us and was a theme which featured prominently during negotiations on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework. I am hopeful that we can build on the momentum of the October European Council, both in progressing our energy union goals, but also in realising the EU ambition of becoming a competitive low carbon economy by 2050.

Strengthening inter-institutional annual and multi-annual programming is also an agenda item at the November GAC. The European elections in May were the first step in a major institutional transition which has since seen the designation of a new European Commission and High Representative and the confirmation of a new President of the European Council. This institutional renewal marked the opening of a new legislative cycle within the EU and provides an opportunity to refocus on what we want the EU to do and how we want it to function. Following a tasking from last month's Council, the Presidency has been engaging with the Commission and Parliament with a view to strengthening inter-institutional engagement on annual and multi-annual programming. The Presidency will report to the November GAC on these efforts.

As part of the engagement on annual programming, it is also planned that the GAC will have the opportunity to discuss and have an input into the Commission's draft annual work programme prior to its finalisation. The work programme, which sets out the schedule of legislative proposals to be brought forward by the Commission next year, is informed by the political guidelines which President Juncker presented to the European Parliament in July. A letter of intent from the Commission President, listing the broad priorities for the work programme, was received just this morning. I think the joint committee also received a copy. The Department of the Taoiseach is in the process of co-ordinating the views of Departments. From an initial reading, I am satisfied that the priorities are broadly in line with the strategic agenda negotiated by the European Council. Ireland is supportive of closer co-ordination between the EU institutions in framing an approach to legislative programming and we welcome the opportunity for the GAC to provide feedback to the Commission on its annual work programme before finalisation. We consider it essential that the institutions work effectively together, not as an end in its own right, but to ensure that the Union is delivering as efficiently and effectively as possible in the areas of most importance to its citizens.

Protocol 36 to the treaties has been added as a possible item on the GAC agenda. The joint committee will be aware that the UK is exercising its right under Protocol 36 to opt out of more than 130 EU police and judicial co-operation measures on 1 December. The UK has indicated that it wishes to rejoin 35 of these measures, including the European arrest warrant, on the same day. Negotiations on the UK rejoining these measures continued throughout 2014 and the issue also featured on the agenda of last month's GAC. I am pleased to report that Spain has lifted the final reservation on this file which means that all member states are now likely to support the UK rejoining the 35 measures. In addition, a vote on Monday in favour of a statutory instrument in the UK House of Commons was interpreted by the British Government as a vote in favour of rejoining the 35 measures. This means another significant hurdle has been crossed. A vote is required in the House of Lords and this is expected to take place next week. It is expected that the UK will use the occasion of the GAC to read into the Council minutes the details of its agreement with Spain in relation to the 35 measures that the UK wishes to rejoin.

Ireland has been following developments in relation to Protocol 36 with close interest and we have been actively encouraging a speedy resolution of the issue. We are very pleased that the way is now open for the UK to rejoin the most important 35 measures, including the European arrest warrant. It is vital for both countries that we have the closest co-operation possible in the fight against crime and that co-operation can continue in a seamless fashion after 1 December.

Under any other business, the Presidency will provide an oral update from the third meeting of the Friends of the Presidency group on improving the functioning of the EU. This group, which operates at official level, has been considering a variety of questions relating to the functioning of the EU system with a view to recommending how, within the framework of the current treaties, EU action might be made more effective. Topics discussed by the group include how inter-institutional co-operation could be strengthened in respect of annual and multi-annual programming, how to improve regulatory fitness and reinforce the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, how national parliaments might be supported in their EU engagement, and how the functioning of the Council and the General Affairs Council specifically might be improved. The group is due to meet once more in early December, after which the Presidency will prepare a report for presentation to the December GAC. Ireland has contributed actively to the three meetings of the Friends of the Presidency group held to date and I look forward to the presentation of the Presidency report in December.

As mentioned at the outset, I will also represent the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform at the segment of the GAC focused on cohesion policy. While I will not go into detail, I can confirm that there are two main items on the agenda for cohesion Ministers. The first will be an exchange of views on the Sixth Report on Economic, Social and Territorial Cohesion, which analyses the socio-economic and governance challenges member states and the regions face and assesses the impact of cohesion policy and public investment on economic and social disparities. The second item deals with the role of cohesion policy in the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy. As the joint committee will be aware, cohesion funding has played an important role in Ireland's economic development. The Government has identified its priorities for cohesion funding for the 2014 to 2020 period. These include promoting growth and competitiveness; combating unemployment and social exclusion; promoting research, technology development and innovation and the competitiveness of the business sector; and promoting an environmentally friendly and resource efficient economy. These are all priorities that are closely aligned with the Government's overall focus on jobs and growth.

I thank the joint committee for its attention. I am happy to take any questions members have on the GAC agenda for 18 November 2014.

2:15 pm

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for what was, as usual, a very comprehensive contribution. I will start off as I have a couple of quick questions. The Minister of State took part in some of the joint committee's deliberations on the Europe 2020 strategy prior to his elevation to his current position. We published this morning a report on foot of our review of the strategy which looks at things like the targets and the need to have a better approach as opposed to a one-size-fits all approach. We consulted various stakeholders and had significant input from the Committee of the Regions which was concerned about regional disparities. Many present believe that is a significant issue and I am aware that the Minister of State has spoken about the Munster area and Cork in particular. He will be aware of the difficulties posed to ensuring balanced regional economic growth. What are the Government's views on the Europe 2020 strategy's mid-term review?

The second issue relates to the transatlantic trade and investment partnership, TTIP. It was not discussed today in the Minister of State's contribution, but he will be aware of the growing concerns many have. This is especially the case in Germany, where concerns are growing about the progress of the trade talks. Could he give the committee an update of where he thinks we are with that?

2:25 pm

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I also thank the Minister of State for a comprehensive and thorough report. I am especially heartened by the paragraph where he notes President Juncker's plans for an ambitious jobs growth and investment package for Europe, in which he identifies €300 billion to be spent. I hope this country will benefit from that and that it will help us bring our unemployment levels down to single digits in percentage terms. I presume the Minister of State will be in there batting with other Cabinet colleagues to ensure we come out of that well. His reaction on that would be welcome.
The Minister of State graciously complimented our report on the Europe 2020 strategy and he will know that a central aspect of our report was the need for a territorial dimension to the distribution of European funding and support funding and, indeed, in economic development in all spheres, including in the €300 billion cited earlier. While the Border, midlands and west region represented by me and Senator Kathryn Reilly is making progress, and its well-documented progress over the years indicates the importance of European input, it is still in a very unequal position vis-à-visthe rest of the country by all criteria. That has its roots in the conflict in Northern Ireland and a number of issues, including the difficulty of attracting inward investment. That area suffers relative to other areas. It has improved but it suffers. We are concerned that there would be continued input into that area.
The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, committed in his budget speech to ensuring that the benefits of Ireland's economic revival are shared throughout the country. Ireland secured €1.2 billion of Structural Funds, which included a special allocation of €100 million for the Border, midlands and west region. With Government input, that should cause a €2 billion spend, but I would like the Minister of State to comment first on his commitment and what he sees himself as fit to achieve on the territorial dimension in terms of bringing up the weaker regions, giving them an input into how money is spent and implementing positive discrimination in their favour. That €100 million extra is very welcome and hopefully will be used well and have a multiplier effect, but the area needs further positive intervention. In the context of President Juncker's overall plans, that area has a difficulty attracting inward investment because of infrastructural deficits as well as everything else. While I would like to see all regions brought up, and we are well aware of difficulties in the south east as well, my priority is the area I represent, the Border, midlands and west region. I would like to hear a firm commitment from the Minister of State to the territorial dimension. As a corollary of that, I would like a firm commitment to areas like mine that are suffering relative to other areas in the country and a commitment to a local dimension in the spending of moneys there. The extra €100 million is welcome, but we will need more.
I am also interested in the Minister of State's comments on how to get the €300 billion spend, in public and private money, by President Juncker's initiative into the economy to generate jobs and so on. It is very welcome and something we have discussed on many levels. Could the Minister of State comment on how he sees Ireland benefiting from that and how he perceives a regional spread there?
We have wonderful economic progress in the country, thank God, but we do not have a proper dispersal of that.

Photo of Seán KyneSeán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister to the committee. I wish first to make an observation about Protocol 36 and the UK's ongoing concerns. It is interesting to see that although it is opting out of these 130 police and judicial co-operation measures, it is willing to rejoin 35 other measures on the same day. It gives another dimension to the debate on co-operation, in-out treaties and everything else.

The Minister of State mentioned climate change policy. He attended the meeting last month with the Taoiseach, so he knows that the previous Government agreed unsustainable targets in our climate change policy which would have been particularly damaging to Irish agriculture. The Taoiseach and the Minister of State were very strong on the need to reverse this target. How has this been received and what plans do they have to roll this out?

Also on a farming theme, there are concerns in certain sectors regarding the TTIP progression, as the Chairman has said. This is particularly the case in the beef sector, which is very important to this country which is a very important exporter of beef. What has been done to alleviate the concerns within that sector? As the Minister of State knows, Irish beef is of the highest quality, fully traceable, hormone free, and antibiotic free, unlike beef from the United States which has a regime of the use of hormones. There is concern about the talks in that respect.

On the energy union, the Minister of State mentioned "the importance of integrating peripheral and poorly connected member states into the internal energy market". As an island country, what particular concerns would we have? We have an interconnector with Scotland. Are there plans for one with France or is that the type of issue that would be discussed? There are particular energy issues relating to Russian gas supplies, but in this part of the world, as an island on the periphery, what plans and concerns does the Minister of State have?

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I also welcome the Minister of State. I will be very brief and concentrate on one area of his contribution: the rule of law. It is a great concern to a number of us on the committee that some members of the European Union have enacted laws that one could almost say were racist in content and that the action of these governments brought their national policy fundamentally into conflict with the EU. I am delighted to hear the Minister of State's views on this and I support the position I presume he will take on the Copenhagen criteria, because we have compelled and continue to compel aspiring members, from Albania to Montenegro, to comply with our definition of the rule of law, yet we have seen events in countries such as Hungary and - although it is not quite a full member - an interesting series of referenda that have taken place in Switzerland which have limited the free movement of labour. Those have sent warning signals to us. We also have the extremely provocative policies advocated by UKIP in the UK. While we will be looking at the rule of law as it applies within the family of the EU, and the Union is very conscious of the growth of hate crimes, xenophobia and other forms of extreme intolerance across member states, is the Minister of State satisfied that Ireland as a single nation within the family of the EU has taken enough steps to prevent the rise of xenophobia and racism?

Does he share any of my concerns that there are obvious signs, for example, most recently in Waterford where Roma families were marched upon? Is our hate crime legislation sufficiently strong at a national level to protect the country's image, which is important? Everyone present would welcome our phenomenal transition from a single ethnic group of white Roman Catholics 30 years ago to a diverse, multicultural and racially complex society in which we have granted citizenship to 60,000 people from 120 nations. Sometimes, we defer to Europe or point to things going wrong in, for example, Switzerland and Hungary, but will the Minister of State assure me he is confident that our beautifully diverse nation is adequately protected by legislation on hate crimes, xenophobia and religious intolerance? Strong allegations have been made of growing religious intolerance between certain faith groups, not least of which relate to the fears expressed about adherents of the Muslim faith at the mosque in Galway. How is it pronounced?

2:35 pm

Photo of Seán KyneSeán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Ahmadiyya.

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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They are deemed to be outside the mainstream Muslim faith. It has been expressed to me that they are coming under increased religious intolerance, pressure from other Muslim groups-----

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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We will not name any of them.

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I am trying to remember the name of the group that opened the mosque.

Photo of Joe O'ReillyJoe O'Reilly (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Ahmadiyya.

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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In any case, I did not know the group existed until recently. In a nutshell, I support the Minister of State in his work in Europe, but will he reassure me that he is happy that we in Ireland have the ability to protect the rainbow society that has happily evolved in the past 20 or 30 years?

Photo of Kathryn ReillyKathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I will ask two brief questions, the first of which is on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership which the Chairman and Deputy Kyne mentioned. How has the Government represented the concerns of civic society in the negotiations, especially about the inclusion of an investor-state dispute settlement, ISDS, mechanism?

Deputy Byrne referred to the rule of law and the Minister of State mentioned that the EU could not afford to be complacent about hate crimes, xenophobia and other forms of extreme intolerance. If the Article 7 protocol is not invoked or there is a reluctance to do so, how can we prevent EU complacency? It was stated that the proposal would be considered by the General Affairs Council and that a transparent dialogue would be promoted at a political level among member states, but will the proposal ensure that the rule of law is respected? Will the carrot work if there is no stick?

Photo of Dara MurphyDara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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As always, there was a broad range of questions. I will start with the issue of TTIP, which was the subject of the Chairman's second question and referenced by Senator Reilly. I attended the informal TTIP negotiations in Rome on behalf of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, last month. Also there was Mr. Michael Froman, the United States trade representative, and the outgoing Trade Commissioner, Mr. Karel De Gucht. Senator Reilly mentioned the ISDS issue, which was discussed. We need to get back to basics on TTIP. The Chairman will be aware that the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, with Canada is progressing well. The 28 member states must not focus overly on their national issues to the point where the trade deal falls apart. We must remember that this deal has the potential for the EU as a whole to deliver annual GDP growth of approximately 2%. This figure can be disputed and, by definition, is an unknown one, but such a level of growth in the global economy could be crucial in creating the jobs and so on to which we all aspire.

I will reference some of our concerns. As a small, open economy, we are supportive of concluding a robust trade deal. Deputy Kyne identified a matter in respect of which we have concerns. We are optimistic, however, that with regulation and a standardisation of the standards to apply to beef from the US and Europe, this issue can be addressed. We are aware of the beef industry's concerns and the dairy sector's encouragement for us to achieve progress. With the ending of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, there are significant opportunities for Ireland in this space.

Deputy O'Reilly asked about jobs, investment and President Jean-Claude Juncker's dialogue on the €300 billion, which will be the subject matters of the December Council. There is talk of a blending of private and public moneys. In terms of small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, there is a requirement that our customer markets, including the EU, achieve again some level of growth after an absence of a number of years. We have achieved quite a number of months of growth with much difficulty, but progress elsewhere is necessary. As the Deputy is aware, the joint European Commission-European Investment Bank task force is developing an investment project pipeline. Within the context of that discussion, countries are being asked to feed in projects. This has happened in Ireland and other member states. In parallel, the process will establish clearly where the money will come from and on which projects money will be spent. It will consider specific projects. Deputy O'Reilly will be aware that we met with considerable success in the multi-annual funding process and secured money for the BMW region. The purpose of cohesion funding is to ensure that those regions requiring support receive it. Like us, the Deputy will be keeping an eye on the matter. His question on the territorial dimension is to the forefront for the island as a whole as opposed to just the BMW region.

Returning to TTIP, I meant to point out an important element that may be being overlooked. The real benefit for Ireland of a robust trade deal is for our SMEs. The same applies across the Union as a whole as well as in the US. Multinational corporations have the ability to move to get around various laws, etc.

However, smaller businesses require the removal of barriers to trade to allow them develop their business and, consequently, create employment. We had this discussion previously where it was stated that if every small and medium enterprise took on another employee, the unemployment problem within the European Union would cease.

The rule of law is a very important issue as Deputy Eric Byrne said. To answer the second part of his question, the concern is that currently there is no adequate monitoring mechanism to ensure that member states continue to uphold the rule of law or a forum for an open and honest discussion of potential breaches. To alleviate some of his fears, the political and institutional mechanisms foreseen by article 7 of the treaty provide that member states can be sanctioned and suspended from voting in Council in cases of serious and persistent breach of EU values. This has never been used and is considered a last resort. To respond to the first part of the Deputy's question, our position is that the protection of the rule of law on human rights is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. I think that goes to the core of what all parties here believe. We consider it essential that all member states demonstrate respect in their domestic policies for the fundamental values upon which the European Union is based. In Ireland, as elsewhere, there is a need to constantly review our legislation and European laws and rules in light of the changing fabric and circumstances not only across Europe, but in our own country. We have had debates in our own Parliament recently on xenophobia and other issues. It is incumbent on us to ensure in this and the Upper House that we are constantly vigilant to any form of racism or hate crimes that happen on this island while also engaging with our European partners in that regard for the Continent as a whole.

2:45 pm

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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The Minister of State mentioned towards the concluding part of his contribution that the friends of the Presidency group will meet again in early December and said that to date there have been three meetings to which we have actively contributed on issues such as how national parliaments might be supported in their EU engagement. As the Minister of State will be aware, this committee has had similar discussions in the past on how we can improve our liaison not only with the EU institutions, but with our fellow committees in the other member states. It would be interesting to hear what is being done at Government level as to how the Government thinks these links can be improved. Has the Minister of State had any insight or input into what was said at these meetings? If so, it would be great to hear it but, if not, perhaps he would report back at the next meeting on that specific point. What are we saying in terms of how national parliaments' links could be improved?

Photo of Dara MurphyDara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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That would probably be more suited to the next meeting because the Department of the Taoiseach is currently collating our approach through the institutions. The friends of the Presidency group is conducted at official level and is compiling the various suggestions from other member states and obviously we have a dialogue ourselves. One position we are strong on is that we feel existing treaties are adequate and that what is required of the European Union as a whole, and of our own institution, is that we extract as much as we possibly can from the treaties, rules and frameworks rather than seeking to recreate new processes and new rules. The matter is under discussion as we speak. The committee will be aware there has only been a small number of meetings to date at official level. The conclusions and suggestions will be available to us in early December. That will for the December-----

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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That gives us a chance to give the Minister of State our views.

Photo of Dara MurphyDara Murphy (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I recall as a member of the committee we all agreed at the time - I assume it still does - that it is vital to give an enhanced role to the Oireachtas through this committee and through the relationships with the institutions.

Photo of Dominic HanniganDominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Excellent. I thank the Minister of State and wish him well at the General Affairs Council meeting. We look forward to hearing back from him in the near future.

The joint committee went into private session at 3.07 p.m. and resumed in public session at 3.09 p.m.