Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

In the immediate aftermath of the June Council, there was an interesting discussion on social Europe. The President of the Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, was clear on the necessity for the European Union to demonstrate its relevance to its citizens in terms of expanded social programmes and so forth. I am not sure that the Deputy's depiction of the Union and its institutions is entirely accurate. There has been a strong social and cohesion dimension to the European agenda. Take, for example, the new member states and the significant attempts to table proposals on workers' rights, social solidarity and so forth.

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