Gay Mitchell (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to this debate. Following the general election in 2002, a Labour Party Private Members' Bill was brought to a Select Committee on European Affairs. I was Chairman of the committee and the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, put it through the committee. This took place before any other committee had been set up and it was very healthy cross-party co-operation. That Bill, when enacted, gave the Oireachtas extensive powers in scrutinising EU legislation in its embryonic stage, through the Joint Committee on European Affairs and the sub-committee on European scrutiny. Within five weeks of the Government receiving a proposal for European legislation, be it a regulation, directive or decision, the sub-committee on European scrutiny must also receive it in a certain format with advice on its importance and significance for Ireland. That was a very significant development.

The Joint Committee on European Affairs has been given other powers by the House under Standing Orders which it used when I was Chairman of the committee. It is very difficult to get coverage because the business of the meeting is serious. In addition to scrutinising draft regulations and directives, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs come to the committee to discuss the agenda on the forthcoming General Affairs and External Relations Council. This process has some way to go, but it has been a good development. The sub-committee on EU scrutiny looks at all the regulations and decides which should be scrutinised in greater detail. These are then sent to the relevant Oireachtas committees for further scrutiny. It is then a matter for the elected representatives on those committees to decide what is to be done.

There is one downside to all of this. We discovered that what are known as decisions were being taken by the European Council and these decisions did not come before us for scrutiny. We made it clear that this was unacceptable and we were assured that decisions would come before the sub-committee on EU scrutiny in future. A decision to use Irish taxpayers' funds to experiment on embryos in other member states was taken behind closed doors by the Tánaiste and then Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Harney. We believed it was inappropriate to make such a decision without scrutiny, so we sent the matter to the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business, which has responsibility for scientific research. That committee made a recommendation against the decision but the Tánaiste simply ignored the will of the Houses.

We established these procedures because, if Irish taxpayers' money cannot be used for research on embryos here because of the constitutional protection for the unborn, why should it be used to fund research in other member states? If they want to conduct research, let them use their taxpayers' money. A number of member states have serious concerns about the matter but even though it is now up for reconsideration under the seventh framework programme and despite the recommendation of the joint committee, Ireland has not changed its position. I have urged the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to reconsider the position because there is otherwise no point in scrutinising matters and making recommendations. Irish taxpayers' money should not be spent on embryonic research in other member states or put into the European research fund if we cannot conduct the same research here. Irrespective of how I or any Minister feels about the matter, the Houses have spoken and that is an important part of the scrutiny process.

As far as I am concerned, as soon as Bulgaria and Romania are admitted to the EU, the better. It is merely a matter for the two countries to be able to take on the acquis and demonstrate they meet the requirements of functioning democracies, which I hope will happen by early next year. The parliaments of Bulgaria and Romania have already sent observer members to the European Parliament.

I do not know what will happen when the former Yugoslav republics apply for membership. Montenegro wants to join the EU on its own, Croatia will join in the not too distant future and Serbia will join when it is able to function as a democracy. We will face significant issues in governing an EU of more than 30 member states, particular in light of the uncertainty around the future of the constitutional treaty. Nonetheless, we must remind ourselves as the Second World War recedes into the past that the central hope of the European Union is peace and stability on the Continent of Europe. Approximately 60 million people died in Europe during the first half of the last century because of a lack of peace and stability. Everything after peace and stability is a bonus and we certainly cannot have prosperity without them. It is better to solve the problem of developing governing structures for 30 and more states than to deal with a panzer division massing on the border. Solutions to the challenges which will undoubtedly arise as the EU enlarges can be found through politics. Clearly, Bulgaria and Romania are on the verge of membership and we should ensure they join as soon as possible.

I want to make my next point as carefully and sensitively as I can. I have never made a racist or intolerant comment or said anything against immigrants, but I think problems are arising in respect of immigration which needs to be addressed more proactively, not only by the Government but also by the community. This lunchtime, I attended a meeting in Ballyfermot, where a project has been established to involve indigenous and immigrant communities in planning for greater integration in the Dublin 10 area. Recently, I spoke in the European Parliament about Pearse Park in Crumlin, Dublin 12, where each year on the first bank holiday of the summer, Crumlin United and another group organise a sports against racism festival. The festival is a fantastic idea which brings together soccer teams from Ireland, Poland, Romania and elsewhere, as well as Gaelic football and hurling teams. By bringing together people from all over the world to compete in sport, exchange food and music and hold a joyful event, sport is used to break down racism and integrate people. Racism often emerges at sporting events, so it is fantastic that Crumlin United and its partners can organise this annual event. These ground level efforts need to be encouraged and supported because they are positive and welcome.

I do not want to score any party political points when I say that we also need action from the top. I am a former Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility for European affairs. Like the current Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, my responsibilities included co-ordinating European issues across Departments. I prepared for meetings with the help of officials from the Departments of the Taoiseach and Foreign Affairs, who would signal the difficulties they encountered in various Departments. As a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, I could threaten people who were dragging their heels with the involvement of the Taoiseach if they did not resolve their problems by our next meeting. The ability of a Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach to co-ordinate issues such as European integration and prepare for European Presidencies has proven useful.

The integration of immigrants will become even more important with the accession of Bulgaria and Romania and, unless this is co-ordinated from the top as well as encouraged on the ground, this country will face serious problems. Currently, 80,000 housing units are being built each year, which is approximately equal to the numbers built in the United Kingdom. If we are to be honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that this boom will not continue indefinitely and the best we can hope for is a soft landing. When that happens, fewer workers will be needed in the construction industry and, if these workers cannot find jobs to suit their skills, they will look for scapegoats.

Many of the people who present at my constituency clinic to seek services such as public housing or social welfare benefits accuse immigrants of receiving a disproportionate level of State support. I tell such people, who often confuse immigrants with asylum seekers and make absurd claims, not to turn on other vulnerable groups. I heard a nonsensical anecdote about three immigrants who could not make room for their push-car in a taxi and so decided to leave it behind because they could get another one from the health board. Even though this and similar stories are totally untrue, people tell them without being challenged. I was once threatened with the Equality Authority after an appearance on "Questions and Answers" by somebody who thought I said "old people" are the worst, when I actually used the term "older people". Older people, who one would expect to have a more balanced view of life, are often the ones to make false claims against immigrants.

I say this for the Minister's consideration and for the record. A Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach or the Chief Whip, who is also a Cabinet member, should be appointed to co-ordinate immigrant issues across all Departments in the way the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs with responsibility for European Affairs co-ordinates European issues. I refer not only to asylum and visas but to policies on anti-racism, integration, housing, health, social welfare and public education, and to educating the new ethnic communities in how to integrate, respect each other's tradition and culture and live side by side.

I often use the following words in the debate on Europe. Europe is not about assimilation, where we all have to be the same, Europe is about integration, where Roman Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews, non-believers, French, German and Irish work together, side by side. In debating this issue we must remind ourselves of this. It will mean that people will travel here as part of that integration process and we must ensure that we double our efforts to bring that integration principle home here. The way to do it is to have a Minister to co-ordinate it. We do not need a new Department with a Cabinet Minister because different Departments already do different things.

A Minister of State, the Chief Whip for example, should co-ordinate these issues. There used to be committees such as the Geoghegan-Quinn committee, the Kitt committee and the Mitchell committee, which were presumably named after the incumbent Minister during the last Presidency. We should have committees like those and if an issue arises relating to a particular Department, that Minister would co-ordinate the action taken rather then leave the relevant Minister to deal with it alone. Senior civil servants under the chairmanship of the Minister would co-ordinate the action on the issue. I ask that this idea be examined. For a long time, preceding the last election, I have had a motion on the Order Paper of the Dáil seeking the appointment of such a Minister. It is time somebody proactively took responsibility.

I genuinely fear that simmering beneath the surface there is a serious potential problem with immigrants, and not all of it is caused by the indigenous Irish population. Immigrants often do not know what is expected of them. Sometimes they have ideas about what they should get, and when they do not get it they think it is because they are immigrants. We must nip those problems in the bud.

Immigrants are welcome here. I have nothing to say against them. I welcome the idea of multiculturalism, which has many positive aspects. One result has been the growing love for the Irish language in Dublin where Gaelscoileanna have opened. Parents have voted with their feet because they see other people's cultures and they want to keep their own. In our churches many people practice their religions in a way that would put some of us who call ourselves Christian or Roman Catholic to shame and perhaps they can show us some of the things we are forgetting. With these positive aspects come problems with integration that is not proactively managed. Those problems simmer beneath the surface. They must be planned for and ironed out so that we have a peaceful, stable and welcoming community where cultures live side by side in mutual respect.

I am glad of the opportunity to participate in this debate and we have heightened our interest in the area of European affairs. In my time as Chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs I found that the Minister and Ministers of State were always co-operative, as was any Minister we invited to come before the committee. It is also taken seriously by civil servants, which is a good thing.

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