I particularly commend the efforts of the forum to take the debate out to the people. All too often discussion of Europe is perceived to be a matter for elites – whether political, academic or bureaucratic. It has not generally been seen as something that shapes and touches peoples' lives and the places where they live. The forum road show has brought debate to more or less every corner of the country. It has taken it out of the rarefied halls of Dublin Castle and into the suburbs, the countryside and the provincial cities and towns in which the people live their lives. As a result, the debate has acquired a much more localised and genuine flavour.