Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

The process which will conclude with the contribution from Deputy John Bruton next week is helpful. We must accept that when the Minister of State and his colleagues speak here on this issue, they are speaking to the converted. The political challenge for Members, and for all politicians, is to transmit this message to the people in a language which is free of Euro-speak or jargon. Senator Ormonde addressed that topic last week.

This is an exciting period in the growth of the European Union, particularly in light of the accession treaties and the fact that we are moving towards a possible treaty of Dublin. These are exciting times indeed for people in the political classes. However, we must what this means for the people of this country. It will mean a huge amount economically, socially and politically, but, unfortunately, the public has not yet tuned in. During the two debates on the Nice treaty, we saw how long it took to engage the public and how difficult it was to break down fears and doubts. We will have to repeat the political engagement we successfully achieved during the second debate on Nice. We will be putting the fruits of the Minister's and Government's work, including the deliberations of European politicians, before the people in the future.