Liam Twomey (Wexford, Fine Gael)

I have been around long enough to understand what is going wrong. The Minister of State has been around long enough to know that he has not delivered for the people of County Wexford.

The European Union has been very good regarding health services. We do not promote it much, but the EU would be a substitute for many of the weaknesses of the Irish health services if people better understood it. People can receive medical treatment in the EU free of charge under the E112 system if that service is not provided in Ireland in a timely fashion. I am surprised that it has not been taken up to a greater extent by people in Ireland. A case in the UK was brought by a woman who challenged the British Government on the issue and "a timely fashion" was defined as less than a year's wait for an important operation. The year began the moment the GP referred the patient and ended on the date of the operation. In that case, the woman needed a hip replacement operation.

If a GP decides that somebody needs a hip replacement in Ireland, that person could wait up to four years to avail of the operation. The EU has a website to help people access health services in Europe. Therefore, the EU can be positive, progressive and proactive across different areas, not just agriculture and fisheries. If people logged on to that website, they might get off the waiting list a lot faster than they would ever hope to do under this Government.

Fianna Fáil has always tried to dismiss the European Union as it has tried to set up republican values that people do not understand. Part of the operation of setting itself up as a parochial republican party is the desire not to be seen to have anything to do with the greater European project, even though the people of Ireland have been part of it for the past 30 years. We have let the people of Ireland down in that respect because the EU receives a bad press to some extent. That is the case because we do not actively promote it. I would like to know how many Members know where the European Commission's office in Dublin is located. Do Members know where to find the European Parliament's office in Ireland? They might be surprised to learn that the two buildings are just 100 yards from here, on Molesworth Street. I suspect that the vast majority of Members have never been in either of the two buildings, have never attended any meetings there and have never met the EU officials who represent the European Parliament and the European Commission in Ireland. I suspect young people in schools throughout the country do not understand the workings of the EU, although things may have improved in that regard.

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