Feargal Quinn (Independent)

I realise the Senator would not have a problem with that. We do not hear it much but it seems to be a nasty word for anyone to declare themselves a federalist. I have met a number of senior people who believe in a federal Europe. The great benefit of the Lisbon treaty is that it avoids precisely this. It allows us the opportunity to have a more efficient Europe than would otherwise be the case.

The difficulties of trying to run a business with a board of eight, ten, 12, 15 or 25 members are clear. It becomes more and more difficult to run a board the larger it becomes. However, if that board of management had to have unanimity on every item of discussion then it would be almost impossible to make decisions. I hope the treaty will be approved very shortly and we will have a European Union with a much more efficient method of operation. I believe the balance negotiated regarding voting rights is well thought out, planned and argued. Therefore, it will avoid the difficulties referred to by those federalists who seek a totally united Europe similar to the United States with a good deal more power heading to Brussels.

The other man I met some years ago to whom I referred earlier was Václav Klaus. I have not met him in recent times. I came to know him in between his terms as Prime Minister and President of the Czech Republic. He was strongly committed to certain views at that stage which he expressed when I outlined my enthusiasm for Europe. He referred to the fact that he had previously had a Big Brother from Moscow for many years and he did not wish to substitute it with a Big Brother from Brussels. He seems to have taken this view to an extreme to the extent that when he visited here with Mr. Ganley, he did not pick up the telephone to inform me he was coming or to discuss what he wished to achieve.

I refer to two or three things which I would like to see take place. I refer to the Single European Payments Area, SEPA. It is very significant not only for business but also for the citizens of Europe and for the customers of almost every business. I believe in removing the barriers, especially in the eurozone. This must be a target and we must do our best to try to achieve this. I held some concerns at the time of the first referendum concerning the four main issues raised by others. I did not declare which way I would vote until I was satisfied in my mind. The issues included, in no particular order, neutrality, which the Minister of State clarified, the issue of the Commissioner, which has been solved, the tax situation, about which I am now satisfied, and the question of Ireland's right to legislate itself with regard to abortion. Such issues were resolved. I did not make up my mind or decide until those issues were clarified.

My challenge for the Minister of State is to address several other issues. Can we manage to do something about joining the Schengen Agreement area? We should convince Northern Ireland to participate on its own because citizens of Northern Ireland now need photo identification and probably a passport to travel to Britain. It seems a reasonably simple task to encourage people to join Schengen even if Britain does not join. However, it may mean having to convince Northern Ireland.

I refer to another issue that has nothing to do with the European Union but the Minister of State may be able to do something in this regard. I wish to join Central European Time, especially this weekend. We should operate in the same time zone as the majority of Europe. I tackled Mr. Barroso, the President of the European Commission, on the matter when he was here. I accused him of being the one who ruined it because Portugal moved from Central European Time and joined our time zone six or seven years ago. He claimed he was on my side and he did not wish it to take place. The Minister of State should consider if there is something we can do in this area. Let us consider the benefits. For example, next week we would not have to put the clocks back.