Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The fact that is the way the European Commission is supposed to work benefits smaller countries much more than larger countries. One of the branches I dealt with most was the Directorate General for the Environment. There were quite a number of Irish officials there. It was important because they had the knowledge and the perspective. That perspective was not always in favour of the Irish Government because they also knew where people had tried to exploit loopholes and they were well clued in but they still had the perspective. That is very important. It is also important that we never try to emphasise that we want more Irish people because they will favour Ireland. We do not because as soon as one goes down that road it is lose-lose. There are many other countries and if they take that attitude, then we are going nowhere with it.

For people in Brussels, it is not just about working there; it is about living there. Deputy Howlin's point about young people living in Brussels goes back to what I said earlier. Many of the people who worked for me helped other young Irish people coming to Brussels, not just in getting employment but they were often more of a help in securing accommodation, fitting in, getting introduced to the GAA and other clubs, etc., which is important.

We should consider trying to recruit a number of staff to the institutions who would act as - I do not want to use the word "ambassadors" because it is too fancy - who would be available to give face-to-face or virtual advice to young people at a particular time, and that this would be structured in some way.