Mr. Maurice Pratt:

I shall respond to some of the questions the Deputies have raised. They were very interesting and constitute a very important part of the debate, which is great. In terms of the scenarios that have been aired, my view is that we will probably end up with a hybrid of all five, or maybe a hybrid of four. I am not being specific about which ones they might be. The crucial point to me is that we get the debate going and that people look into the depths of those scenarios and test them out. Crucially, the citizens must be brought along in the debate.

It is absolutely the case that the European Union needs reform. As somebody who has been very involved all his life in consumerism, I have long held the view that if people live in a bubble and do not understand what is going on in the daily lives of people, there is a disconnect. The longer one lives in that bubble, the greater the disconnect. For me, the really crucial piece is how Europe explains to its citizens its relevance to their daily lives. There are great examples that rarely come up in the popular debate about Europe. Commentary is mostly about red tape, the Union being too big or too structured. There is less talk about the benefits of travel and the opportunity concerning the freedom of the skies. What about roaming and water directives? There are many things that Europe has done very positively but classically the debate is frequently on the negative and not on the positive. A balanced debate is important.

Deputy Cullinane asked about the consolidated tax base. From an Irish point of view, it is really crucial that we retain control of decisions around tax. We all know how open our economy is and of the threats posed to it by Brexit. I personally regard that as a red-line issue for the future of Ireland, its citizens and job opportunities.