Ms Noelle O'Connell:

-----I will pass over to Mr. Pratt. I will pick up on a couple of points. Deputy Cullinane made many salient and valid points. I fully agree with him. There has always been a debate at the heart of the European project. There has always been robust challenges between those who desire an ever-closer union and those who do not. We absolutely concur that we must work to ensure a European Union which works for all citizens. As an organisation, we see our role and our mission as developing the connection between Ireland and Europe and ensuring that we in Ireland have our say on what type of Europe we want. We also try to explain, communicate and act as a conduit in Ireland for the European side of things. We would certainly never claim that the EU is perfect. It is not a panacea for all ills. It absolutely is not. Has it been in Ireland's interest to be a member however? We are unequivocally of the view that it has been and that it will continue to be, provided that we have our say and make sure to influence and shape the ongoing debate which the Deputy outlined.

In respect of the issue of social Europe, we absolutely agree. It is important that Europe continues to work to promote and strengthen the connection between citizens and the institutions. The Deputy touched upon some of the challenges which the EU faces. In many cases it can seem to be a matter of them versus us, but it is not. We are all citizens and there is an onus and a responsibility on all of us to have our say and to try to influence and improve the EU.

On neutrality and defence, the question which we asked in the Red C poll, and which Mr. Pratt outlined, was an interesting one. In 2015 the president of the Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, mooted the possibility of an EU army. We asked about that in the Red C poll, to genuinely see what Irish people thought about the idea. While we must respect that polls and barometers are only a snapshot of viewpoints at a particular point in time, 66% of Irish people polled in 2015 did not favour Ireland being part of an EU army as proposed by Mr. Juncker at the time. Interestingly, the poll we commissioned this year, which we referenced in our address, was taken to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the Brexit vote, around Europe week. We wanted to see where Irish people's views on the issue were. It was interesting that 57% of Irish people favoured closer defence and security co-operation. We fully agree-----