Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 81 together.

Both questions touch on fundamental aspects of Ireland's relationship with the European Union and I welcome the opportunity to record once again the firm commitment of the Government to the ideals and values enshrined in the European treaties. The European Union has faced and continues to confront a crisis of a scale and complexity that has been without precedent since its foundation. It is understandable that concerns have been expressed both about the adequacy and the manner of our collective response to that crisis. I am confident, however, that when we look back at this difficult period, we will see that it was precisely those ideals and values of solidarity and co-operation espoused by the founders of today's European Union that steered us safely through the crisis. Every step of the way we have seen the European institutions, particularly the Commission, the European Council and the Parliament, working together to seek common solutions to shared problems. In a matter of months, we have made unparalleled efforts to reinforce structures for economic governance and devised new instruments to safeguard the economic stability of the European Union.

The Government is also committed to ensuring our citizens have adequate information to form a judgment on the European Union and Ireland's place in it. Working with the European Commission representation and the European Parliament office in Dublin we have an agreed joint communications strategy which aims to improve communications on European Union issues in Ireland and to promote greater understanding of the EU. My officials meet the heads of the Commission and Parliament officials here on a monthly basis to review progress on the implementation of the plan. We work closely together on a range of initiatives such as the recently launched Blue Star programme for schools, an initiative I pioneered in the Department of the Taoiseach which is designed to develop knowledge and understanding of the European Union at primary level. The Communicating Europe initiative is designed to deepen public awareness of the role the European Union plays in our daily lives and an important plank of the work in my Department.

It is important that we engage citizens on the terms of the new treaty on stability, co-ordination and governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. This has important implications for our future economic well-being, will help to ensure greater security and stability for our shared currency and strengthen the obligation of those member states whose currency is the euro to live up to their responsibilities. The Government is prepared to play its full part in this regard.

Our network of diplomatic missions plays a key role in disseminating information to our partners at the highest level on Government policy on the European Union and keeps us updated on the evolving positions of other member states. This constant flow of information feeds into and guides our approach to issues in Brussels and within the institutions.

I am working closely with my colleagues on Europe Day activities in the Oireachtas this year and we aim to build on the success of last year's events. Details of this work will have to be agreed in close consultation with the Oireachtas and I hope to be in a position to come back to the House on the matter in the coming weeks.

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