Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

You have been kind, a Chathaoirligh. I did not say there is supposed to be one minute for the lesser players in this debate, but I am saying it now.

I am delighted that Proinsias De Rossa could come here. He and I shared a platform one lovely August evening in Donegal at the Magill school at which I suggested that he and the other players in the field should come here because the matter of the Convention was just beginning to burgeon. The Minister of State, Deputy Roche, will be here the week after next and then Deputy John Bruton will be here. We are looking forward to that.

I thank Proinsias De Rossa for coming and responding with great alacrity and enthusiasm. I was pleased to hear the clear message that people have so many different views and that we must consider how to accommodate them. We all explicitly or implicitly asked how we, as citizens, are to become comfortable with Europe and how Europe will become comfortable with us. That was the original question in the debate, not just on this issue but on Europe also.

The Joint Committee on European Affairs is doing great work, travelling to Castlebar and other towns and inviting young people to meet its members. The Forum on Europe is also doing great work on its travels. I regard this debate as another step in the process of letting people know what is happening in Europe. It is very easy to sit back and admit one does not know what the Convention is about because it does not mean anything to one but it will mean a huge amount to everyone of every age. It is up to us to provoke a debate if there is not one and ensure that whatever we say or do provokes a debate, because it is about all of our futures and, even more importantly, those of our children.

I wanted to ask a question—