Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I join other Senators in welcoming the Minister of State. I wish him well in his ministerial portfolio and look forward to working with him on European policy issues. When I was given the assignment of speaking in the debate on this Bill and got down to researching and studying the matter with the assistance of the Department of Foreign Affairs, my initial feeling was one of being somewhat overwhelmed by eurospeak jargon. However, having reflected and thought the matter through, I agree with the Minister of State that the basic elements of the Bill are really quite simple in terms of endorsing the provisions of the treaty and incorporating them into domestic law. That is a necessary part of the process to enable the Nice treaty to take its place alongside earlier EU treaties dating back to 1972.

The Minister of State referred to the role of the European Court of Justice in relation to some elements of the treaty. Perhaps in his reply to the debate he will enlarge on the actual workings of EU institutions in that regard. I am interested in all the institutions and their role, also in the various treaties, the Coal and Steel Community, the upgrading of the central bank systems in Europe, as well as the European Central Bank. I began to think about this area and realised that I did not understand where it fitted into my thinking. I did not think about it before but perhaps I am slow in my approach to the background. Perhaps we all are and this is the problem. Seán Citizen would say that he does not know what is going on. This is a golden opportunity to launch our interest in Europe and perhaps the best place to do it is from this Chamber.