Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister to the House. He has frequently attended debates on matters of European and foreign policy in recent years. Geographically, we may be at the periphery of Europe but we are at the core of European politics. What the Minister of State and his Government colleagues have completed over the past weeks and months must be recognised as a significant achievement. The lengthy motion put forward by Fianna Fáil Senators is similar to one which might be presented before the North Korean Parliament in that we are missing the dear Leader here this afternoon. However, we can all support its sentiments. The work that went into the preparation of the constitution, the various summit meetings, and the Presidency was outstanding. A tremendous job was done. As the Minister of State and his colleagues have acknowledged, the Irish diplomatic staff and Civil Service have again proved themselves to be top of their class. No other country could have achieved a better result than the Irish Presidency, a fact all sides of the political spectrum must recognise.

On 1 May we welcomed the new countries, which were really the old countries, into an enlarged Europe. That was a significant and historic day although it has probably not been sufficiently recognised as such. We now have a new, dynamic and united Europe. Where there were walls of concrete and weapons of fear, there are now 25 countries working together towards a new and positive agenda. I have remarked before that when I first entered this House in 1987 the Continent was divided, built on fear and it had a very uncertain future. However, since 1989 in particular, which saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the decline of communism, there has been a sea change in western and central Europe, which is now manifesting itself in eastern Europe.

It is a tremendous achievement that this country has played such a significant role over the past few important and historic months. Senator Mooney's quotation of Robert Emmett is apt. I had intended to quote the lines myself. We are taking our place among the nations of the earth.

It is now a question of where we go next and how to proceed. The draft constitution, which has been agreed, is very balanced but will have to be put before the people in a referendum. There is no need for me to lecture the Minister on what needs to be done, we must ensure we do not have a debacle such as the one in respect of the Nice referendum. The issues put before the people should be plain and clear, and the political parties that claim to be supporters of Europe, which comprise the vast majority on this island, should be to the fore in the political argument. Nothing can be left to chance. It would be an enormous tragedy if, after the work of the Government during the Presidency, the National Forum on Europe and the majority of politicians in Leinster House, we did not ensure the referendum was carried. The constitution contains good news for Ireland and Europe. It is fair and balanced and ensures our vital national interests are fully protected. We can fully stand over it.

The appointment of the new President of the Commission must be welcomed. It is fair to say there was some speculation that the job would be given to the Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern. It would have been very positive for Ireland had he decided to allow his name to be considered. He chose otherwise and his decision must be respected. Perhaps the system of appointing a new President is somewhat cumbersome and unusual in the sense that candidates are not declared in the conventional way.