Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Taoiseach, the Government and myself are keen to be proactive in response to proposals from this House on how we now implement the Lisbon treaty and enhance the role of the Oireachtas in terms of European Union affairs. That means more plenary sessions in this House on European Union matters. We would respond very positively to that. I am impatient. I would like the House to get on with it and come to us with clear proposals. I believe that is possible, particularly given the enhanced role from the legislative perspective in terms of the issue of subsidiarity, for example, and assessing each directive that comes through and the legislation proposed.

There is a need to ensure that we create the mechanisms within the House that enable us to deal efficiently and expeditiously with EU legislation in an informed way and also, in more general debates, to bring European Union issues more into the mainstream of Oireachtas work. It is a major problem here compared to other European Union states, which I believe get a greater hearing in their Parliaments.

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