Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the new Cathaoirleach, Senator Kiely. I also congratulate the new Leader of the House, Senator O'Rourke, our Chief Whip, Senator Moylan, and everybody else who achieved promotion. I also congratulate my colleague, Senator Ulick Burke, who is the Fine Gael Whip.

There has been much debate about the role of small nations in relation to Ireland and the smaller countries that wish to join the European Union. On listening to the debate, there has been much misrepresentation of the role of small nations. People are saying the large member states will dominate the decision making process. If that was the case, Ireland as a small member state could not have been a major net beneficiary of the European Union budget for about 30 years. The large member states like Germany and the UK are net contributors to the budget.