Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I welcome the Bill and thank the other parties for their acceptance of it. I, too, commend the work of the Forum on Europe, chaired by Senator Maurice Hayes, on its work in bringing the debate on the future of Europe around the country. This has been a positive departure and is something on which we should build in the future.

This Bill is also important from the point of view of engaging the people in EU affairs and ensuring openness and accountability in debate. I hope it will bring more media coverage of European affairs because at present it does not get the coverage it deserves. That would help involve the people in European affairs and help them to realise the positive work being done by the European Union.

I agree that more than this Bill is needed to redress the issue of the democratic deficit but it is a good start. It is important the Bill's secrecy provisions are not used to avoid its intention and perhaps we should revisit those provisions in the future to see how they can be improved. The fact that EU regulations allow Ministers to amend Acts of the Oireachtas needs to be considered to ensure that is also more accountable.