Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Perry and I have already put on the record my appreciation for the patriotic work done by him and by Deputy Durkan and his committee. The manner in which the work of these committees is ignored, particularly by the national broadcaster, is scandalous. It is a matter of deep and grave public concern that an organisation supported by taxes to an extraordinary degree has completely ignored these committees.

I note the Press Gallery is empty. I hope someone in Ireland still cares about truth, accuracy and the right of the Irish people to know the facts. Deputy Perry and the committee have struggled long and hard, which I fully appreciate because before I became a politician I worked on scrutinising EU legislation in the Department of Finance. It is detailed and difficult work which is largely ignored by our national broadcaster. The national broadcaster claims the right to all of the broadcast tax on the basis that it fulfils a public service obligation.

I ask any fair-minded person in broadcasting, the print media or politics to compile the amount of air time given in recent weeks by RTE to the unelected leader of the Libertas organisation, who has no democratic mandate and little knowledge of EU law or processes, to either of the two committee chairmen present who are members of parties other than my own. I admire the efforts of the committees and in particular those of Deputy Perry. It is a national scandal that those efforts have been frustrated because the Irish people have a right to the truth, the facts and that an immense amount of good work is being done here. That right is being denied to them by a broadcaster that is refusing to fulfil its responsibility.

I thank the Members and the members of the Joint Committee on European Affairs for their work. The Oireachtas is playing an increasingly important role in the process of scrutinising EU legislation. It is important to have plenary sessions and to bring this issue into the open and discuss it. The people of Ireland should see the democratic oversight built into the process. I am pleased the report is being debated today and the failure to do so in the past is something for which we all bear collective responsibility.

There is a strong consensus in the Dáil and Seanad that greater scrutiny of EU measures and decisions is central to addressing the concerns of the Irish people about the EU. The people would be concerned if they were told by someone, courtesy of our national broadcaster, who demonstrated last week that he doe not have a clue about the legislative process, that the processes at work are undemocratic. They believe it because there is no counter point being put to them.

This report demonstrates that the Oireachtas has taken on new responsibilities and taken them to heart. Since these responsibilities have been taken on board there has been a step change in accountability and review in this House. The report demonstrates that the work of the committee is varied, wide and covers the spectrum of EU legislation. I welcome the manner in which the committee has sought to highlight and prioritise legislative developments, and the critical appraisal of myself and other Ministers because that is healthy. We live in a democracy which we should value and elevate. We should value those who work to ensure the democracy works.

The overview of the report outlines succinctly the developments of key national priorities such as energy policy, climate change, the Common Agricultural Policy and aviation industry. These are all areas where the European Union operates to the benefit of each and every citizen in the country. We are a small nation and can do little, despite our best efforts, on climate change but as part of, and at the heart of, the European team we can make a difference and change attitudes for which future generations will thank us. Energy security represents a major challenge for Ireland and is an area where the European Union can be helpful. Its work will only be improved by the work of Deputy Perry and the committee.

I commend the committee on the way in which the report highlights the manner in which the European Union negotiation and legislative process is carried out. It is incredible that people who have never sat at a European Council meting, a meeting of the Council of Ministers or been part of the negotiation process and would not know a permanent representative if it fell on them can get away with the mendacious statements and perversion of truth we have seen recently. There is nothing more open and transparent than the process of public servants, Ministers and ambassadors from each member state going through the process and having to come before an Oireachtas committee or its counterpart in another member state to review and scrutinise their work.

In Ireland the views of the Oireachtas have become central to the way we negotiate, deal with and interact with Europe and that can only be a good thing. Irish officials, public representatives and Ministers operating as a team can only improve matters for the country, yet all of this work is ignored or dismissed.

I listened recently to a person who proclaims himself to be Ireland's next billionaire — God help us when one consider the business activities in which he has been involved — speaking against the elites. I am not part of an elite. I am an ordinary working class individual who worked and was elected by my constituents, and so are all 166 of us. None of us has a view of ourselves as part of an elite and if we did we would be cut down to measure by our constituents who have little time for the kind of aggression, bombast and nonsense we have seen in recent days, including today when one unelected individual decided to insult the Members of the Oireachtas and then walk out of a committee. In any country other than this that would be news and would be dealt with as it should be by the public being allowed to visit the opprobrium on the case that is well deserved.

The committee has produced 16 scrutiny reports. Perhaps I am unusual or have a sad life, but I have read them and they are models of clarity. With regard to the special report produced by Deputy Perry some time ago on how we should move forward with regard to scrutiny, I urge those who have not had the opportunity to read it to do so. It too is a model of clarity and shows how we can deal with the work of the Union.

The report is excellent in every regard. The initiatives underline the essential democracy and inclusive nature of our system of European scrutiny. It is vital now that we develop a better approach of communicating this. If we care about Ireland and its future within Europe — anybody careful of Ireland's future must see that it is within the heart of Europe — we must learn to communicate better. The fault lies with all of us in that regard.

I am particularly anxious that there be increased public awareness of the role of the Oireachtas in EU legislation. If the channels of mass communication decide to ignore this House, they do a grave disservice not just to the House, but to democracy and the people. We should also make information more easily available and show how important are EU developments.

The main reason given for abstaining in the recent referendum was the lack of understanding or knowledge. This was also the main reason given for voting "No". Can anybody blame the people for this? There is a letter published in today's edition of The Irish Times and anybody who has not had the opportunity to read it should do so. The editor of a powerful newspaper based in the United Kingdom admits he was part of a campaign for a "No" vote. He is entitled to his views as is every citizen living in a democracy. However, there should be some sort of balance and fair play. Clearly, in that situation there was an instruction from head office this should not be the case.

We are working intensively to identify ways in which we can improve European issues and how they are communicated. We must get more co-operation, particularly from the national broadcaster. The idea that we can, as Deputy Rabbitte famously said some years ago, consign the discussion of democratic debate and consideration to beyond the witching hour, when only insomniacs and those who have rolled in from the pub are available, must be changed. It speaks volumes for where we stand and how dear we hold democracy that "Oireachtas Report" is on a par with or slightly behind "The Podge and Rodge Show".

There is a place in democracy for informing the people and there is a need for the people of this country to be properly, honestly and truthfully informed. There is reason to drag us before the public and be critical of us when we fail. However, when we see, as we have seen today, two Oireachtas committees that worked long and hard to serve the country and ensure the Government is kept on line and that public interests are kept to the fore, get only a fraction of the time that unelected wealthy people who have the benefit of big PR budgets get, there is something fundamentally wrong. Our democracy is under threat if we do not have greater debate.

I compliment all the Members from all parties who worked so hard in this committee on this work. They have done significant service for the people and that service demands recognition.

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