Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the statements to mark Europe Day. Sunday, 9 May was Europe Day. To mark the occasion, the Government paid for a four-page spread in the Sunday Independent. I assume similar content was bought in other Sunday newspapers. Perhaps the Minister could enlighten us at the end of this discussion as to how much that cost. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, wrote about peace and solidarity. Mairéad McGuinness, the European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union, wrote about solidarity and Next Generation EU. The pieces in the four-page broadsheet spread covered such topics as the European regional development fund, supporting small businesses, building emotional resilience, and peace for future generations.

There is no doubt there have been some benefits to membership of the European Union. However, I do not think institutions and bureaucrats spend any time on critical reflection. There was certainly none of it in this House today.

When we joined the European Economic Community, it set about stealing our fishing resources. It did that to Ireland, England and Denmark when they joined because these three countries brought significant fishing resources to the EU, as it existed at that time. That is important because development in this country has been completely unbalanced ever since, with Dublin becoming the economic driver. Members have spoken of how much we have got through Structural Funds, CAP payments and so on, as if that is something for which we should be thankful. Europe should be thanking us every day-----

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