Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Roche. The purpose of his visit is to establish the sub-committee which will analyse the issues arising from the failure to ratify the Lisbon treaty. We have reflected on this matter in recent months and I am weary from the many discussions with many people on the reasons for this failure. I am pleased the research body was established to examine the issues and to highlight the main reasons of concern to the public. It was interesting to learn that those who voted "No" still wanted to be a part of the European Union, which is important and we must not forget this. We are a part of Europe in terms of trade so there is a problem about how best to proceed. We do not wish to rehash the Lisbon treaty in its old format. That is gone out the door and we are not thinking about it. However, we must examine the consequences of the "No" vote and where we go from here. By the end of this year there will, perhaps, be 26 countries which have ratified the treaty and we may be the only country left out. This may put us in a very difficult situation and we could very easily be marginalised and vulnerable given that most of our trade is with other member states. This puts us in a dilemma on how to best proceed and on which areas we must concentrate.

The study seems to indicate that a lack of understanding about the contents of the treaty was relevant. It is important the sub-committee is set up to analyse and examine how we can reach out to the public. If people wish to be a part of the European Union we must inform them about what that involves. We must inform people of the role of the national parliament and how it is associated with the European Union. We must get this message across to the public. There were other relevant issues such as conscription, our national identity and other matters. However, a lack of understanding about the treaty was the main issue, which is interesting. If those who voted "No" understand what it means to be a part of the European Union it is possible they will become "Yes" people if we proceed with another referendum. I do not know the answers but it is important for reasons of economics, finance, social policy and foreign affairs.

The role of the national parliament must be enhanced in future. It was always our belief that the citizen did not understand what was happening in Europe. This was a major issue throughout the campaign. Such people felt their identity was lost, that decision making power was not here but in Europe. We must convince citizens that we have a sizable role, that the national parliament makes all decisions and that directives from Europe cannot be implemented unless they are endorsed by national parliaments. This is an important message to spread. It is important to provide an understanding of the European Union and Ireland's part in it. Do we, or do we not, want to be a part of Europe? This is the fundamental issue and I believe we want to be a part of it. The establishment of the sub-committee should analyse the challenge of how to reach out to the public and highlight our part in the future of Europe.