Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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I congratulate the Commissioner and wish her the very best. This is the first opportunity I have had and how delighted we are she has found the time to meet us this morning. I wish Senator Dooley well on his recent appointment. I would like to get the opinion of the Commissioner on an issue and I invite her to comment on it. This is the much used phrase about the best of both worlds for Northern Ireland. One aspect of this is Northern Ireland's relationship with the EU. In her previous capacity as an MEP, the Commissioner's door was always open to Northern Ireland concerns. The special select committee played that role in hearing these representations and passing them on, as do many other vehicles in the Oireachtas.

Northern Ireland does not rely on Whitehall to fight for it in respect of this one aspect of the best of both worlds. In the longer term, when east-west relations do not specifically cover the constituency of concern, although we are doing very well at present utilising existing infrastructural consultative mechanisms, is there not a need for more open formalised long-term two-way access for Northern Ireland in this new territory for the EU as well as Northern Ireland? What is the view of the Commissioner on this? They are very welcome and they come down to Dublin all the time, but could there be a more direct line? If not, the Oireachtas really has to look at this in a more than piecemeal way and have a formalised voice for them in the Oireachtas. We have to work on this even if it requires constitutional reform. I would like the views of the Commissioner on this.