Deirdre Clune (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

That was a quick ten minutes.

I wanted to cover many other positive areas of the treaty and where the EU has been positive for Ireland. For example, in the protection of the environment we have seen much investment in waste water treatment, water treatment and air quality. We have seen investment in our roads and transportation. The social policy has been very good for Ireland. We have been net beneficiaries for a number of years of financial contributions.

Our own language is official within the EU. We have seen the resurgence of Irish through young people and the learning of language within the country. Young people are proud of their identity, heritage and culture, which is Irish, and they bring it forward to the European stage. We have a new generation which is proud to be Irish, and more importantly, very proud to be European.

I will advocate a "Yes" vote on 12 June. I hope it will be accepted and Ireland will continue to play a strong role within the European Union. It is very important for this small island country on the periphery of Europe, particularly as the centre of gravity of the population shifts to the east, to be involved in the institutions of the European Union.

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