Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I too would like to thank the Minister of State and his officials. It has been a demanding week for him since the Minister, Deputy Cullen, was away in the Far East on European business. Who would have known when he was leaving what brouhaha would be caused here on a number of issues?

It is important to note the excellent work done by our MEPs. All politicians moan but MEPs can justifiably complain about the lack of publicity they get. I know MEPs who work diligently but by and large their work goes completely unnoticed until the election comes around and then they are accused of not having been seen since the previous one. This could not be further from the truth.

The Minister of State referred to a number of MEPs who will not contest the election. The seven or eight he mentioned have 120 years of service between them which is phenomenal. They deserve the tribute paid to them.

In the context of the legislation, we are here to do the best we can and that is why we propose amendments. We try to improve the legislation where we think improvements are needed but the Minister has the prerogative to decide what is necessary. Although the Minister of State did not accept any of our amendments the job was done and I thank him and his officials.