Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

This year Europe Week is at a significant juncture, falling in the middle of the campaign for the European elections which will take place throughout the European Union between 20 and 23 May. Campaigns are well under way. While it may be tempting for some to sell the election as an opportunity to cast a protest vote on domestic policies, to do so is disingenuous and a wasted opportunity. The election is about European issues and the next five years in the European Union. It is not about domestic policies or politics today.

Citizens need strong representation at European level. We elect our MEPs to represent us in the increasingly relevant and powerful European Parliament. Many of us will remember when the Parliament was not as powerful as it is today. It is very powerful today and becoming more so, in which regard it is important to elect MEPs who can adopt positions on proposed European policies and legislation on our behalf with the governments of the member states which are represented on the Council. MEPs play a vital role in connecting citizens directly to the European Union.

The importance of the European Parliament is clear when we reflect on the parliamentary term which has just gone by. During the term of office of MEPs from 2009 to 2014, they have been legislating on our behalf in key areas directly relevant to Irish citizens, including the creation of a banking union to ensure taxpayers' money is never again used to bail out the banking system. The European Parliament was instrumental in bringing about a youth guarantee for young unemployed people in Europe and securing additional funding for the scheme.

During the parliamentary term which will run until 2019 it is likely that we will see some proposals emerge for changes to the existing treaties. We will almost certainly see more significant changes for those countries that share the single currency, the euro, particularly in relation to the further development of an economic and fiscal union. Crucially for Ireland, the question of the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union will be addressed during this period. A great deal is at stake in the next five years.

To ensure we have sufficient democratic legitimacy and accountability in the European Union, we first need a strong European Parliament with a strong mandate working on behalf of citizens and capable of holding the European Commission to account. So too at national level, we must ensure the Oireachtas is fully equipped to a play a full role in the scrutiny of draft European legislation and to hold the Government to account for the decisions it takes at European level through the Council. In this regard, I welcome the Government's review of Oireachtas structures for the scrutiny of EU proposals which the Minister of State, Deputy Paschal Donoghoe, is leading.

The European Union remains central to the achievement of Ireland's domestic and foreign policy objectives, the promotion of our values and interests and peace and prosperity throughout Europe. There is no doubt that the Union has become more complex in recent years. I am pleased that the review of Ireland's foreign policy and external relations being led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is examining how Ireland engages in the European Union. The review will be critical to ensuring Ireland has the right strategic approach in place to maximise its contribution to and benefit from the European Union.

Critical to the achievement of policy objectives in the future will be increased Oireachtas engagement in political dialogue with the European Commission and in dialogue and co-operation with the European Parliament and other national parliaments. I see the respective roles of the European Parliament and national parliaments in the Euorpean Union as distinct and complementary. It will be important to build on this dimension once the newly elected European Parliament is in place. We must strive to make better use of our MEPs to increase their visibility and better integrate them into the work of the Houses of the Oireachtas to provide for continuous dialogue and feedback.

Last week I had the opportunity as Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs to attend a parliamentary conference in Riga, Latvia, to mark on 1 May the tenth anniversary of Latvia's accession to the European Union. On that occasion I shared some of Ireland's experiences of EU membership over 41 years and learned of Latvia's experiences in the past ten years. Despite the different time spans, the number of shared experiences was striking. There was experience of an economic boom, followed by a property bubble and severe contraction in the economy, leading to high levels of emigration. All contributors at the conference were in agreement that the experience and destiny of countries within the European Union rested largely in the hands of each member state. It is for each country to maximise its contribution to the Union and thereby reap the political and societal rewards that membership offers. While Ireland has successfully managed the process to date, it is one we must renew our commitment to on a continuous basis to secure our interests in an every more complex Union. This year Europe Week provides us with an opportunity to look ahead to the next five year period and the further development of the European Union in that time.

The Joint Committee on European Union Affairs set out in February its work programme for the year, flagging the main pieces of work it intended to progress. Since the beginning of 2014, we have contributed to the Government's review of foreign policy and the review of structures for the Oireachtas scrutiny of European matters. Reports have been prepared on both reviews. The joint committee is considering the issue of voting rights for Irish citizens who have exercised the right to live and work in another EU country and we will be preparing a report on the issue following the conclusion of a number of hearings in the coming weeks. This comes on foot of a recommendation from the European Commission in January that Ireland do more to ensure its citizens were not disenfranchised when exercising a right they enjoyed under the EU treaties, the free movement of persons.

The joint committee is also looking at Economic and Monetary Union and what it might mean for Ireland, with a particular focus on democratic legitimacy and accountability. The committee will review the new rule of law mechanism for the European Union which the Commission put forward earlier this year. It will also look in greater depth at the implications for Ireland of a possible changed relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. As always, the committee will continue to build on its bilateral and multilateral engagements with our counterparts in national parliaments throughout the European Union. The national committees will foster better relationships and inform each other of EU scrutiny activities and the views of our respective parliaments on key matters. We will meet again in Athens in June with the other member state committees as part of the COSAC meetings. We will also use the opportunity to meet our colleagues in Albania and Montenegro.

As the Minister of State, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, knows, the issue of enlargement, particularly concerning the former Yugoslavian countries, is high on the agenda of the committee. The committee has a full agenda and is keen to be fully engaged in European issues through scrutiny and examination of proposals and bilateral and multilateral relationships. We look forward to continuing to do so.

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