John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I, too, join previous speakers in welcoming Ms Scallon to the House. I am afraid I am of such an age that she will always be known to me as Dana. I am delighted she is here. It says a lot for this small country that this House has been addressed by an Irish Independent President of the European Parliament in the morning and by an Independent MEP in the afternoon. It demonstrates the benefits of democracy and our success in electing people to represent this country on such a big stage. Given our relatively small population and the fact that the population of Europe is now approaching 500 million, this is a tremendous achievement. I congratulate Ms Scallon on it.

I also congratulate Ms Scallon on the way she represents her views on certain issues. I do not want to deal with stem cell research, which we debated, but it is topical. Ms Scallon raised it, it has been before us in recent weeks and will be again over the next week, during which time we will see how the debate progresses. The contradiction we face in Europe is such that we must ask how Irish elected representatives, who represent a small group, can embrace democracy while imposing our view on a population of 500 million. Do we not have to be tolerant of a diversity of views? Is this not what democracy is all about? Many of us are concerned about getting this balancing act right in Europe.

I have difficulty accepting Ms Scallon's statement about killing a human life for research even though I am very much pro-life and have always held this position. The definition of the unborn has not been clarified in our own courts, nor has clarity been provided in the area of embryonic research. If such research is to be carried out, not necessarily in Ireland but in Europe, we as a small nation with pro-life views, and other nations should play an active part in influencing the introduction of legislation to ensure safeguards in this area. This is what we have endeavoured to do this week.

Ms Scallon sat on a committee drawing up ethical guidelines for something she may not believe in, which is a great act of democracy and a testament to the role she plays. The issues I have mentioned are complex and demonstrate the diversity of Europe. However, can the view of our 4 million people be sufficient to stop the momentum of 500 million people?