Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I wish to echo the remarks made by the Minister on the importance of European affairs, both in the House and in the manner in which this is broadcast to the rest of the country. One of the complaints regularly thrown up is that there is a democratic deficit and we are failing to engage with citizens. In that regard, we must ensure that we debate the issues in this House in full plenary session so that the public is aware of what we are doing. We must also ensure that our national broadcaster treats the House and the European Parliament seriously.

Deputy Roche mentioned insomniacs with regard to the time "Oireachtas Report" is broadcast. Reports on the European Parliament are broadcast even later. The gamut of political broadcasting provided by our national broadcaster is relegated to after midnight, often after 1 a.m. We cannot stand over that. It is no good for the national broadcaster to come back, as it did in the sub-committee yesterday when its representatives came in to explain how it dealt with the Lisbon treaty, and say that it is not the most sexy material. The national broadcaster can package material and present it in a manner that makes it attractive.

We are aware of many programmes that have been made on politicians and politics and there is no reason we cannot have more attractive packaging of "Oireachtas Report" or of any reports coming through from the European Union. The national broadcaster should not simply say that it is fulfilling its national broadcasting remit when putting on something at a time when nobody will watch it. This is not good enough. It must examine its practice and statutory remit in this regard.

Today is almost European Union day in the House because besides having two committee reports being debated in the House, we have the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in Europe going on. I have been hopping in and out between the House and the committee. What is happening in the sub-committee currently is very enjoyable as George Hook, Bill Cullen, Professor Aldous and Eamon Dunphy are providing us with both information and entertainment. This compares well with what we had the other day when Mr. Ganley came in and arrogantly described us all as "elite bureaucrats", despite the fact we were the only ones there who were elected by the people to represent them. We were presented in the propagandist, untruthful mechanism used by Mr. Ganley as being elite bureaucrats.

This morning, it was very unhelpful to see an organisation that had been invited to the sub-committee come in and grandstand. It came in not for the purpose of engaging with the committee but to say that what the committee was engaged in was an act of treason and that the committee was undermining the Constitution. Then the representative flounced out of the meeting and refused to engage. That is not democracy; it is elitism. How does that organisation represent the people who support its views if it is not prepared to put forward its arguments or the reasons for holding those views and campaigning on them? How does this represent the 2,000 volunteers it had working on the Lisbon treaty? What will they think about an organisation that is unwilling to engage in dialogue and debate the important issues relating to a referendum to amend and deal with the matters that concern the entire remit of how we live?

That said, I commend Deputy Perry on the good work he has done. He has been an excellent Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Scrutiny and has kept us focused on the work. We have produced a number of excellent reports, besides the one to which the Minister referred, on how we move forward with regard to an enhanced role for Parliament and parliamentary activity in the House and in the broader context of the European Union.

Our function as a committee is to scrutinise all matters that take place in the European Union on behalf of the people. As part of that process we scrutinise the activities of the institutions of the European Union and of our Government.

It is extremely important for the Council of Ministers, which is one of the most important formal institutions of the European Union, to be held accountable by Parliament as it conducts its business in the broader European context and that is the joint committee's role. It is extremely important that it does so thoroughly, in a manner that is beneficial and which holds the Council to account. As a result, the joint committee put forward further proposals to enhance such parliamentary accountability. I have been pleased to learn its proposal to the effect that this House should give over at least one day per month to European Union matters has been improved upon by the Whips, who have agreed, as the Chairman of the joint committee pointed out earlier, that Dáil time should be made available on a two to three week basis, where possible, for EU motions or reports to be discussed in the House.

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