Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

I said he was an Irishman. I presume Cork is part of Ireland. When the first referendum took place to allow entry into the EEC, I, along with my late father and my very much alive mother, was part of the 18% who voted against. I did so for a variety of reasons. The reasons put forward at the time are the same ones put forward by those opposed to the constitution. Senator Mansergh referred to parties needing to update their policies on Europe. I was wrong then and if I was wrong then I would be even more wrong today.

The experience of the past 33 years has shown that membership of the European Union has been good for Ireland. Many shibboleths and fears existed then, which was only 40 years after the country had got partial independence. That fear is emulated to some degree and reflected in the attitude of many of the former Soviet states, which are fearful that they might be swapping one dictatorship in Moscow for another in Brussels. However, practically all the emerging states are now in favour of the European Union. I would be more inclined to take my lead from countries and from people who have suffered horrendously after the falling of the Iron Curtain in 1945 than I would from those who are comfortable and living in a somewhat luxurious environment on the western periphery of Europe and never had to face up to those realities.

Representing this Parliament, I was privileged to have been part of the debate on the charter on fundamental rights. Part I of the treaty, with the incorporation of that charter, has enshrined equality and human rights to an extraordinary degree. That is what the European Union has always been about. I fail to understand those who, when they use rhetoric against ratification of the treaty, refer to such matters as the improvement of equality and human rights. Surely the whole raison d'être of the European Union is the protection of human rights. The Minister, Deputy Roche, referred to the European Court and quite rightly lauded that it would now become part of the wider European ideal in the context of the adoption of the treaty. There is a backlog of 80,000 cases, and this week the Council of Europe, meeting at a summit in Poland, heard a speech from the Taoiseach in which he called for reform of the European Court of Human Rights. I applaud that, since I believe that our colleagues in the European Parliament should work towards greater reform. It is obviously a popular concept with European citizens if 80,000 of them feel the European Court of Human Rights is the best place to secure redress.

We all applaud the role of national parliaments, particularly the six-week window, and the fact that, if there is a consensus among a minimum number of states, the "yellow card" can be introduced regarding Commission proposals. That is a very real advance. There is a challenge for this Government and the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is not much point in granting the power to scrutinise European Union legislation if the House committees do not have the resources to do so effectively and properly.