John Bruton (Meath, Fine Gael)

I was going to say Superquinn. My message, in other words, is that one must have higher quality representation, which is the reason Superquinn came to mind. I do not mean to be critical of our public administration, but it is probably unavoidable. Its approach to European affairs must become less reactive, defensive and focused on identifying potential problems for us in proposals emanating from the European Union. It must try to invest our interest in a common European interest, in other words, to create a European interest under which our interest can develop, rather than taking a negative approach in which we reject this, that and the other. We need to be more creative.

My criticism is not so much levelled at the current Government as at the way in which people think about the European Union. There is, for example, a tendency here to react. This is probably due to low staffing levels in the Department of Foreign Affairs, which means people are stretched and can only deal with urgent matters. As a result, they do not have time to be as creative as they should be.

We need to harness our resources to be ahead of the game at all times. We must develop European solutions to problems which also happen to suit Ireland, as opposed to Irish objections to European solutions proposed by other member states. This approach should be summarised and pinned to the walls in Iveagh House, Merrion Street and other Departments.

With regard to Senator McHugh's comments, membership of the European Community has not created a uniform Europe. If, for example, one was to trace the flowering of Irish music, one would find it blossomed around the same time we joined the European Economic Community. Although there is not necessarily a connection between the two developments, the distinctiveness of Ireland has become more visible since we joined the EEC. When we were inward looking, others did not know much about us and were not particularly interested in us because we were so preoccupied with ourselves. As a member of the European Union, interest in Ireland has grown and we have developed a greater sense of ourselves due to the strong contact we now have with other countries. This would never have come about had we continued to direct our dialogue inwards. Europe should not be regarded as a threat in this regard.

I thank Senator Hanafin for his reference to—