Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his contribution. In the few minutes available to me I wish to make a number of points concerning last week's meeting and refer to some broader issues relating to the European project and how we can ensure the public's full participation in that.

The Minister of State has come to this House and has attended the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs on many occasions to discuss the central issues of European policy development and its relevance to Ireland and its economy. One of the political difficulties we all face is that of trying to engage the public to the level we would wish. It is disappointing, notwithstanding the important role which the politics of Europe and the European Community plays in our country and its impact on our lives, that we do not have the level of engagement, interest and knowledge we would wish to have.

The Minister of State may be aware of a proposal, currently being considered, to have a Europe day in the Oireachtas. In the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs we are discussing 10 May as a possible date. I expect the Seanad will play a very full role in it and that we will put a mechanism in place in the Chamber to ensure we will grab the attention of the public. I hope we will use the day well and that it will become an annual event by which we try to impress on the Irish people the importance of the European project to our well-being from a social and economic point of view. I hope the Minister of State's Government colleagues try to ensure that it will be a day where the work of Europe and its impact in Ireland and vice versa will be showcased to the maximum degree. On that day we will focus on the issues which, in effect, stem from the recent Council meeting.

It is opportune that the energy debate took centre stage at the European Council. All politicians are aware of the importance of energy and the politics of energy supply. Senator Dardis and others have outlined the facts and the figures. It is no exaggeration to state we face an energy crisis in the years to come but solutions are possible if we put on our thinking caps. Obviously the European Union will play an important role. The Government and policymakers must drive the question of energy to a greater degree than at present. We made a small start in the budget by way of minor tax relief but we need to do much more in that regard. Last week the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, announced some new energy grants through Sustainable Energy Ireland. We must look at conservation as well as alternative energy.

I was interested in what Senator Dardis said about his party's policy document. This is to be welcomed. All parties must play a role in bringing forward new ideas, although the thinking about alternative energy is not new. These technologies are in place. They are not rocket science. We need a combination of grant aid and political encouragement. Europe has a role to play in this regard. It is a frightening thought that from an energy point of view Europe is so dependent on external factors. This is not a new problem. We are now arriving at the same situation in regard to the food supply in Europe because of the policies we have adopted in the past ten or 12 years. We are facing a future in which Europe is not even guaranteed its own food supply within the continent. We will have to reflect on this matter as we debate agriculture and its role, not just in Ireland but in Europe. That is an aside but it is something we should not forget.

Thinking I had more than six minutes to speak I brought with me a report from the Taoiseach's Department on the national reform programme. It dates from last October, which is the most recent one available. I am disappointed we have not made more progress on the Lisbon Agenda. It is what Europe should be about — improving the economic growth of the Continent as well as the economic and social opportunities of the people of Europe. We should be selling the message that Europe works well, not just politically but economically. The success story of Europe is not just about bringing peace to a previously war-torn Continent, it has been about developing economies and opportunities and opening up the Union to new people and new countries. The Lisbon Agenda is at the very core of that. We must try to keep it very much at the top of our political agenda.

Most of our constituents have little knowledge of the Lisbon Agenda. I do not think it is a question of them having little interest, it is more a case of little knowledge. We all have a political task in hand to try to sell that message and keep the Lisbon Agenda to the forefront of policy. In the recent Council meeting the Taoiseach and his colleagues discussed the knowledge economy, the development of small and medium-sized businesses and opportunities for young people, which are so important.

Senator Dardis and others referred to the problems in France last week. The irony is that in other countries where perhaps there has been a greater willingness to be flexible, look at different economic models and put in place greater incentives, jobs have been created to a greater degree. All of that debate must come to the fore.

I look forward to more of these debates. I hope that our Europe day gives us the opportunity to sell this message and take the debate to the widest possible number of people.