Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As a member of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, I am delighted to say a few words on our engagement with Europe. Intensive engagement with the European Union is essential given the sheer breadth of the legislation and policies which originate in Brussels and have such an impact on the lives of the people in this country. Some three quarters of our social and economic legislation has come directly from Europe via regulations, directives or other EU instruments and much of our domestic legislation has been influenced by our membership of the Union.

The European Union has grown immensely since we joined in 1973. Where once we were a partner among 12 member states, we are now one of 28 in a Union which embraces most of the continent of Europe and involves more than 500 million people. When put in this context, the challenges facing a country of our size for establishing effective engagement become very clear. The reality is that as a small nation we have to work that little bit harder to ensure our voice is heard and our views are known. It is due to the diligence and dedication of our representatives in Brussels and in the European institutions as well as various national public representatives here that we have been able to have the impact that we have had.

One of the long-held criticisms of the European Union has been its apparent disconnect with the ordinary citizen. Long before the Treaty of Lisbon, which consolidated the various treaties legally underpinning the Union, this was an issue. It was with the Lisbon treaty that the relationship between citizen and the Union was examined in great detail for the first time. Accordingly, with the passing of that treaty, each citizen of each member state became a citizen of the European Union with new rights and responsibilities as identified in the cases undertaken by the European Court of Justice. I believe the enthusiasm in the Lisbon treaty to reflect on the role of the citizen within the European Union has been born out of the recognition that for any organisation or institution to succeed, there must be involvement of the members. In an increasingly evolving Union it has been correctly realised that the success of the Union is tightly connected with the inclusion of its citizens in shaping and deciding its direction and future. The Lisbon treaty saw increasing the role of national parliaments as a way of achieving this buy-in and inclusiveness.

However, the Lisbon treaty was drafted at a time before the economic and financial crisis which struck in 2008 and 2009. The result was a sudden and understandable preoccupation with financial and economic matters which in turn left little room for considering the many other aspects of the EU. National parliaments were concerned first and foremost with stabilising national finances and in drawing up and implementing measures to deal with ravages of the recession. There was little scope for national parliaments to spend time fulfilling the role envisaged for them under the Lisbon treaty.

Following the 2011 general election it was decided that each Oireachtas committee would undertake scrutiny of various European legislative measures and proposals in their subject area. With the limits and constraints on time, it is understandable that this course of action was taken rather than creating a European Union committee to do all EU scrutiny. As a result, those of us on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs have been able to examine the other issues such as the role of EU in various areas, the future direction of the Union and the different perspectives and views of other member states. As a committee we have been able to hear from different organisations, academics, journalists, business leaders, policy­makers and ambassadors on a variety of issues concerning the European Union. All of this have been very positive and has deepened our understanding of the Union and the issues facing it. In turn we have been able to impart many of the views held by Irish people on the Union. However, given the amount of legislation that originates from Europe, the impact it has on our legislation, I wonder if we could do more in the Oireachtas to ensure the Irish voice is heard from the outset and at every stage of the decision-making process.

As I have said previously, a reformed Seanad could lead a much enhanced level of engagement between the Oireachtas and the European Union. We elect Senators for each of the various directorates in Europe - agriculture, competitiveness, foreign affairs, education and so forth. The Senators would be able to devote more time and energy to scrutinising and shaping European proposals, an outcome that would benefit not just Irish citizens but all of the citizens of the European Union. The opportunity is there for us to build on the engagement we have with the European Union.

At a time of uncertainty concerning the Union, with the deepening financial union, the impending UK referendum, the question of Scottish independence, the instability towards the east of the Continent, meaningful inclusion and engagement with citizens is crucial to a successful European Union, a Union which has championed peace and co-operation among Europeans for longer than in any other time throughout history.

I have spoken previously on the single market for energy and that area needs to be tackled. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, appeared was before the Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and attended the Competitiveness Council meeting this week. There are huge threats to European businesses regarding the lack of competitiveness vis-à-vis the United States which has much lower energy costs. It will be a huge challenge for the future in terms of attracting and maintaining foreign investment in this country. The single market in energy offers huge opportunities. I would point to the debate on wind energy. We need to ensure there is proper infrastructure in place across Europe and that we can tap into those markets and the interconnection among members states of the Union. That is a great challenge and it is needs to monitored and embraced.

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