Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Deputy Timmins and I represent a constituency that is not unlike Deputy McCormack's constituency. This is because of concerns about the environment. The best stewards of the environment are people who live in the countryside. I have always made the point that the most active supporters of the environment are the farming community in general. I agree completely with the Deputy that a countryside divested of people is simply a desert. We do not want to create a desert and call it progress because that is nonsense. The point has been well made that frustration arises because of domestic interpretations in some of our agencies. From our experience as local representatives, Deputy McCormack and I could both instance many cases of various agencies adopting conflicting views. This issue requires attention.

This is a hobbyhorse of mine. When I chaired a committee that dealt with this matter some years ago, we produced a report calling specifically for more common sense to be used in the application and domestic interpretation of directives, regulations and EU legislation. The Deputy is correct that domestic interpretation causes a great deal of frustration. He and I probably agree that sometimes, when officials interpret laws, which laws are largely domestic, or dealing with domestic planning considerations, they find it all too easy to blame the Union for their own perverse interpretations.

I am very familiar with the circumstances the Deputy describes. If one drives through the areas of France that are not unlike parts of Connemara or County Wicklow, one will note that the constraints of which we speak do not apply at all. There is a need for common sense here.

One of the liberating aspects of the Lisbon treaty is that Members of the Oireachtas will have to become much more actively involved in EU affairs. I make no apology for saying this and believe it is good. It is good and democratic that people who are concerned about EU law, be they councillors or general citizens, will have the opportunity to lobby Members of the Oireachtas to ensure we are more attentive to detail.

Deputy McCormack is correct that there is a predisposition in Ireland to being extraordinarily detailed in our interpretation of various measures. It seems to be part of our national character and may be the result of something in our genetic make-up or psyche. If one compares practices across the Union, be they in respect of the sale of artisan foods or planning, one will note a more pedantic approach in Ireland than elsewhere. This must be addressed. As we discuss new EU legislation in the Houses, we should be very careful that our domestic interpretation does not exceed either the letter or purpose of the former. It really infuriates me to hear those who are guilty of very nitpicking interpretations of legislation state their interpretations are EU requirements. They are not EU requirements in this case but domestic requirements. All of us in politics agree on this and it needs to be attended to.

I am conscious of the latitude the Acting Chairman is giving me in that we are probably straying a little from the section under discussion and the amendment of Deputy Costello.

See this speech in context