Mr. Maurice Pratt:

It has become somewhat of a truism to say the EU needs to be reformed. Most politicians, commentators, officials and citizens agree on this and arguably Brexit has created a renewed sense of urgency to the process.

The next phase is agreeing in which direction to reform the EU. Inputting into the White Paper process on the Future of Europe is a crucial step towards this. Let us remember, as I said earlier, that Ireland’s future remains firmly in the Union, so when talking about the future of Europe, we’re also talking about Ireland’s future in Europe. It is vital, therefore, that we input into the future of Europe process fully to make sure that our voice is heard and that we have our say.

This fits into a wider point, on which I will conclude. It is imperative that we do not just frame the case for Ireland’s continued EU membership solely around a Brexit discourse. We must also make the positive case for Ireland's EU membership, what we gain from being a part of the EU, what the EU gains, in turn, from our membership, and what we want to gain in the future. The future of Europe process provides the ideal platform through which to engage with citizens and policy makers in order to do this. I thank members for their attention and we look forward to any questions they might want to put to us.