Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, to the House and wish her continued success in her Ministry. As deputy leader of the Council of Europe group, I have found the Minister of State accessible. This is the first occasion on which the Minister of State has provided a briefing for Members prior to the meeting in Strasbourg, which is helpful. It is hoped the Minister of State will be able to continue to provide this service to Members.

The Minister of State, when in opposition and Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, of which I was a member, brought forward an excellent document in regard to legislation from Europe and its role in regard to the Oireachtas. That document was particularly influential in terms of the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Under the Lisbon treaty, the Dáil and Seanad have powers in regard to the referral, postponement or vetoing, in co-operation with other parliaments, of Bills. However, this House has not thus far received any European legislation for scrutiny. While the sectoral committees deal with legislation, they do not, as far as I am aware, have the same powers as the Dáil or Seanad in terms of referral, deferral or revocation of legislation from Europe.

Perhaps the Minister of State will, through discussions with the Whips and the Leader of the Seanad - I know Senator Cummins and members of the Government parties in the Seanad are open to this idea - provide that the Seanad deal once a month with controversial European Bills. There is a wealth of information and talent in this House, an expertise in different fields from the length and breadth of this country, which would ensure Bills in respect of bogs, septic tanks and so on are trashed in a detailed manner. Currently, numerous Bills are being passed without proper scrutiny. The Joint Committee on European Affairs no longer undertakes scrutiny of legislation and the Joint Committee on European Scrutiny no longer exists. Such legislation is referred to sectoral committees. Perhaps the Minister of State will ensure Bills which she deems worthy of detailed discussion are discussed in this House, following which, if considered necessary, such legislation could be deferred or vetoed in co-operation with other member states.

The current situation in Europe is complex and is evolving every hour owing to the situation in Italy and the failure of the motion of confidence in the Italian Prime Minister. The situation in Greece is also complicated. All of this is putting great pressure on the euro and the stability of the European Union and eurozone. On the proposal to introduce a further treaty on integration, support for that would be unlikely given the current experience in Ireland in terms of the recently held referenda. We must defend our 12.5% corporation tax. There is a danger that any treaty seeking a unified tax approach in the European Union would target our corporation tax rate. Our corporation tax rate is the key to our future success. I do not want to take up the time of the House recalling all the decisions and broken promises of this Government. I did not stand for election in the last general election. However, the 58 members of the Fianna Fáil Party who lost their seats must be aggrieved that the public was misled in relation to burning of the bondholders and the statement of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, that the banks would not receive another cent.