Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As I stated in my reply, I commend those who worked in the forum, its chairmen, all who served it and those who regularly attended it. However, while the forum had many good sessions since the first Nice referendum, from which the Government's initiative for the forum arose, its impact on public awareness of the intricacies and detail of how the Union works was no greater perhaps to any measurable significant extent. I am not taking away from the forum's efforts, professionalism and good reports but there is a wider issue at stake with which one cannot expect a structure like the forum to deal. The question is how we incorporate European Union issues into the daily and weekly debates of the House so that people can understand how the European Union and its policies interact with their day-to-day lives.

That disconnect is not unique to Ireland. The Union's institutional framework is complex; it is the only example of a multi-nation system of governance in which member states share sovereignty in some areas, exclusive EU competence works in others and some areas are reserved for member states. It has an intricate and complex architecture which people may find off-putting. The only way to get over that is how we debate EU issues in the House.

We live in an era of interdependence. Many problems which span national borders can only be resolved through co-operation and the level of integration the European Union is pursuing which is unique compared to other parts of the world.

The Oireachtas, as the democratic assembly of the people, should be the central place where these EU issues are discussed and developed. As practising politicians and public representatives, we have a better prospect than most, in terms of democratic legitimacy and exercising our own political skills on these subjects, to bring relevance to the day-to-day importance of European issues and discriminate between what is important and not. This is an issue of political culture that needs to be addressed. As Ireland is moving to net contributor status in the Union, we must show that it was not simply a place from which we received assistance to develop various policies or sought financial recourse when required.

The foundations of this modern economy are based on our membership of the European Union in respect of how it works and functions, as well as by how it is influenced by what goes on in Europe. We have allowed that debate to be rather ad hoc in nature, rather than an integral part of how we discuss politics.

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