Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

In the shortest possible time, I will say this. I compliment those who worked in the course of the recent campaign. The campaign did not start, like somebody thinks, in the past six months; it started two years ago. It was a very difficult campaign.

The first campaign was unsuccessful because the people said that they did not know enough about the subject, and the campaign on the "Yes" was poorly fought on several grounds. I compliment my colleagues on the Joint Committee on European Affairs and the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny for the work that their members, of all parties, did. They travelled up and down the country with no thanks. Nobody said to them that they did a good job in the interests of democracy or otherwise, but they did their job unstintingly and unselfishly, and at great personal sacrifice.

In the second campaign the Joint Committee on European Affairs changed tactics altogether and decided to take a different route. The committee selecting the leaders of the various parties in the Houses of the Oireachtas to address it and, through the web-cast, anybody outside who wanted to hear and see it. That was a good decision and it worked extremely well.

I say without prejudice to anybody that the leaders of the parties in the House should take full credit for the way in which they displayed their knowledge of the subject and the way that they carried the respective campaigns to the committee and, through the committee, to the people. I compliment the Taoiseach for the way he started, and he was excellent on the day. There is no question but that it had a significant impact. I particularly compliment Deputies Kenny and Gilmore for the courageous decision that they took because it is never easy for an Opposition party at any time, regardless of in whose interest it is, to support the Government, particularly at a time when there may be other issues on the horizon that might distract attention. They did a great job without exception and they led their respective supporters in an exemplary way.

While all people outside this House can criticise - they do so on a fairly regular basis and they sneer at the institutions of the State, including the Oireachtas - the leaders of all the parties showed that they were prepared, when the issue was put to them, to do their job to the best of their ability, and they did it. I do not want to leave out the leader of the Green Party, Deputy Gormley, who also came before the committee and gave leadership, which is what this was all about. Even Deputy Ó Caoláin, with whose opinion the majority of members on the committee did not agree, came before the committee and spoke, through the committee, to the people who were his supporters outside.

All in all, democracy was seen to work and ultimately, the people responded in an emphatic manner. If there was any doubt about it on the first occasion, there was no doubt about it on the second. I believe the correct decision was taken then.

What happens from here on in is hugely important. I agree with what the Minister stated today, that in the future Ministers going to the Council of Ministers meetings should come before the relevant committee. He is correct because that is where it starts. Afterwards when a directive is mooted and it comes back, it must be dealt with by the relevant committee, which in that case is the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny.

There must be a greater commitment on the part of the Houses of the Oireachtas, in terms of time and personnel, to how we will deal with the issues relating to the European Union. This is a much bigger and serious issue than it was previously. There is no use in Members making a token representation, or whatever the case may be, in the hope that it will be all right. That will not work.

We in this House need to liaise more with our colleagues in other member state Parliaments to know what they are thinking. If we do not do that, matters have a way of evolving without our knowledge. When that happens, matters get out of control.

We are only a small country. We took a decision for the rest of Europe. It was an emphatic and important decision. We can continue to play that important role within the European Union if we become involved. If we stand off and do as some other countries have done in stating a wish to opt out from this or that aspect we will eventually end up in a situation where we are on the outer perimeter where we will no longer be influential and where we will hear about the decisions after they are made. That is not where we should be as a nation.

In the short time available to me, I am unable to address the real issues that need to be dealt with at this stage but I want to say this. The Lisbon treaty gives greater power to member state Parliaments. That is a two-edged sword. The European project will move only as fast as the slowest wants it to go. That is why it is hugely important that the members of the member state Parliaments are totally au fait with the thinking within the European institutions, including the European Parliament, the Commission and at the Council of Ministers. If we do not make that effort, then we will not be there when it counts, we will be squeezed and we will not be able to take decisions which are in the national interest.

I acknowledge that any time the Fianna Fáil Ministers were asked to come before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs before attending a meeting they did so. It does not always happen, and it should, but it is hugely important in the democratic process that if one is to have the views of the member state Parliament on hand before going to a Council meeting, it is essential that a meeting takes place. Such an exercise does not constitute an attempt to impose on or dictate to a Minister. However, it should be mandatory that the Minister take the opportunity to discuss with the members of all parties of the member state Parliament before making crucial and vital decisions that may affect the entire nation.

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