John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, and his officials to the House. I readily accept the need for this Bill. I do not have a problem with that, as the matter needs to be regularised. Some important court judgments are relevant in this regard. I would like to ask some questions which are similar to those which were posed by Senator Quinn, although I will not go as far as he did in his final remarks.

I agree with the sentiments the Minister of State articulated about the benefits of Ireland's membership of the European Union. I will not repeat those remarks, other than to say some of the other benefits we have enjoyed as a result may be even more significant than the economic benefits. I refer to the improvements in our national self-confidence and our development as an outward-looking society, for example. Ireland has started to look beyond its nearest neighbour for alternative ways of doing things. Consensus is a significant feature of the European parliamentary system, which is quite different from the system we are used to, which we inherited from Westminster. Another notable benefit of EU membership is that it has helped to erode the ultra-nationalist thinking in some sections of society. I do not refer to nationalism in the sense of one's pride in one's nation but in the narrower sense of the sort of feeling which led to the world wars. The EU's enduring monument is that it has kept the peace on this Continent since the Second World War.

I attended the funeral of one of the people who was killed in the 1972 air crash that was referred to by Senator Quinn. The late Michael Rigby Jones of Irish Ropes, who had created a substantial business, was killed in that accident. It is interesting to think such a business would find it difficult to survive in the modern European Union, which sees intellectual property as more important than physical labour. The process used by Irish Ropes at the time to make ropes involved heavy labour. That such industries would no longer survive here is a measure of how this country has changed.

I am always somewhat suspicious of simple Bills which come to the House late in the session. The Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, will recall one such Bill which related to licences for fishermen. It caused considerable difficulties, not least in his part of the country. It is possible to step on some landmines late in the session and late in the day. While I do not think this Bill is such a landmine, we should bear in mind that difficulties can arise. We need to regularise, from a legal point of view, the manner in which we confirm the standing of various EU transpositions.

I agree with Senator Bradford's comments about EU jargon, which is the crucifixion of a great deal of EU legislation, including directives. One of the most popular phrases of recent times has been "the information deficit". I think I am given credit for having introduced a similar piece of jargon — "the comprehension deficit". There was no problem with information because we were deluged with it. The problem was that we could not understand it.