Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

This is an important initiative on the part of RTE and we should welcome more of the like.

The Minister indicated his third reason for supporting the European constitution is that it would help make the EU more democratic and that the powers of national Parliaments would be enhanced considerably. They would have more power to intervene directly in the legislative process. I welcome this initiative because of what has been mentioned by other Senators, namely, the consequences of European directives. I would like our MEP colleagues to explain these consequences fully.

An area of great importance is the environment. Some of the directives that have been handed down are totally unsuited to our particular environment. Up until now we have been told we cannot interfere, that something is fait accompli. That is the end of the story. I hope that if, as a result of this constitution, we have greater input at national level to reverse some of these decisions or to ameliorate their effectiveness, the constitution would be welcome.