Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

No, I do not want to be. I have fought against that under several Taoisigh and I have no wish to do it.

I thank Ms Doyle for the vividness of the knowledge she has given us about the committee system, although it was sketchy because of time restraints. I understand that because of COREPER, the officials, Members and Ministers must all work very hard. I have spoken about this in the House before. From my knowledge, COREPER means that one is handed one's brief on the aeroplane to Brussels and told this is the position to take. What if one does not want to take that position? I do not agree with it. I was regarded as a general nuisance because I mentioned opinions of my own rather than sticking to those in my brief. If I said I did not like something, I was told it was all agreed at COREPER. In my mind I built COREPER up as a mysterious, exotic group of people who met in a dark cave at night and came to conclusions, which they drummed into compliant Ministers and then those who were not so compliant – those who must be worked on, such as me and some others. However, those in Brussels do wonderful work. The permanent representatives are at endless meetings day and night. I thank Ms Doyle for her vividness and her willingness to come to the House, but also for her service to the country, which she has given in many guises.