Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I join many colleagues in congratulating our new Commissioner on her nomination to her new role. I wish her the best of luck. The comments made here this morning and the commentary in the media about our new Commissioner tell a story about our relationship with Europe. When any European job is to be filled, there is considerable media and political interest in it. Today's newspapers are full of speculation about who might be doing what and so on. However, when those jobs are filled that interest in Europe recedes and the interest in what those people are doing and the jobs they are meant to be doing recedes, and an information gap develops.