Mr. Maurice Pratt:

Very much so. That is part of what we do as an organisation. For us it is about how we communicate to the average citizen in Ireland about what Europe is doing so he or she will understand how important it is to have a view and to be able to express it.

On Deputy Brophy's comments and the size of the Commission and so on, every organisation has to live in an iterative world. Nothing is perfect, things move on and we live with change. It is really important that the Commission examine its structure and size and find a mechanism whereby it becomes more fit for purpose for citizens. It is a great challenge to relate a massive budget to the daily lives of citizens. After all, we are part of a community of 500 million citizens. That is how we should think about it.

On the very valid questions as to what would happen to the Irish voice in Europe if the structure were slimmed down and whether we would have commissionerships and so forth, possibly the only positive thing I could say about Brexit, or the threat of it, because it has not happened yet, is that I feel it has made Ireland more aware of the importance of getting closer to like-minded member states. That will be of significant benefit to us in the future. Had the Brexit issue not arisen, that might not have happened. That is really important.

I have always been impressed when visiting Brussels by the degree to which the Irish nation has integrated itself into European Union activities. In many respects, it has punched above its weight in its ability to influence. I hope we do not lose that capacity. With the prospect of Britain leaving - I say "the prospect" because it has not happened yet - I share the concerns based on the view that Britain has been a really important partner for us in many of the debates. If I examine the long-term prospect of a European Union without Britain, or any other major nation state, I note that large countries have such a scale that they will recover in time. It is much more difficult for small member states to do that because they simply do not have the economic heft of larger states.

Broadly, those are our views.

In conclusion, the European Union has major challenges but we have a major challenge in Ireland to raise this debate beyond the issue of Brexit. Clearly, all of the Deputies are in favour, from what they have said about us continuing to be a member of the European Union because they have seen its positives. We have got to get that positive message out there. That is difficult to do in a digital world where it is hard to get somebody to pay attention for 60 seconds when one is dealing with complicated stuff, which is why, frankly, our campaign Just the Facts has been of great benefit. The campaign draws people's attention to what we believe are really important communicative issues and we will continue do so. It is a challenge. Our role in Europe in positing the importance and the benefit of being a member of Europe has never been more important for us to continue to press forward, as an organisation.