Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I welcome the motion. It is important that the Oireachtas responds to the fallout of the rejection of the referendum on the Lisbon treaty. I am pleased it is happening through the framework of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs. It is the appropriate framework, particularly in the context of the tightening economic situation.

Deputy Timmins referred to the terms of reference of the sub-committee. The provision to analyse the challenges facing the State following the rejection of the referendum is broad. A disservice has been done to the public in recent months in that politicians have not spelled out the implications of the "No" vote for citizens, the economy and the role of the State within the European Union. This is something the sub-committee must explore and I look forward to being part of it. It is vitally important for us as a nation to reassess our position in the European Union and to determine whether we want to be part of a forward-looking and forward-moving Union committed to integration or to step back and take a more isolationist approach. While it is important that we all go into this process with an open mind, I am strongly of the view that Ireland should take its place at the heart of the European Union.

The provision to make recommendations to enhance the role of the Oireachtas in EU affairs is fundamentally important. The recently established Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Scrutiny has one of the most important roles within the Oireachtas in assessing and scrutinising all legislation from the European Union. The committee must be adequately resourced in order to do its job as effectively as its counterparts in other parliaments in the Union. Our performance in this regard is unsatisfactory and it will require a commitment from the Government to ensure the mistakes made in the past in the implementation and transposition of EU regulations do not recur. Debates on future EU referenda should not be confused by issues such as problems arising from directives on turf-cutting and so on.

We must resolve all such issues by fully scrutinising the relevant proposals at an early stage. I hope the Minister will commit to elevating European affairs to a greater level of importance in the House by bringing debates on these issues into the Dáil Chamber. At present EU affairs are discussed in the bunker that is the committee rooms and these discussions do not impact on the public consciousness. I hope the sub-committee will forge a way forward in order to rectify this.

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