Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

That is what I am saying; the role of the Seanad is for Senators and the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges to decide and define how it wants the Seanad to operate in that regard. There is nothing stopping the Seanad. I am very supportive of that role being taken up by the Seanad. We do not have any conflict. We are ad idem. I am happy to support the much greater and much enhanced engagement of the Seanad in the scrutiny of legislative proposals coming from the European Commission. There is no question about that.

I agree with the Senator's sentiment on the political crisis in the eurozone and the overall context, and the question of public support for the project. We clearly have a political crisis. I have spoken about it many times since my appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. On the one hand some Members have talked about the unedifying intervention or interference in the democratic processes in sovereign member states, but on the other hand we want to see political leadership at European level. One cannot isolate the two. It is all very well to say that what is happening in Italy or Greece has nothing to do with us but at the same time it is very popular and indeed populist in this country at the moment to beat President Sarkozy and Chancellor Merkel over the heads with a stick when they try to get into action mode while at the same time criticising them for months for a lack of action. There is a double standard of which we are perhaps all guilty. It is clear that the engine of the European project has always been a Franco-German one. That is what rose from the ashes of the Second World War. We need that engine to maintain the political momentum and underpin the European project. That is in all of our interests. There is a fine line between that momentum becoming some sort of domination. We must be clear about that. That is where the institutional balance is so important.

The problem with the current crisis is that it was never anticipated. We do not have the mechanisms in place to deal with such a crisis so the French and German Heads of Government have stepped forward. We have insisted that they step forward to take an active leadership role. I was very disappointed with the lack of action from political leaders in the past eight months since my appointment and prior to that. I was critical of it, but I am pleased that at the eurozone summit on the 26 and 27 October we did finally see decisive action from Chancellor Merkel in particular. I give her credit for that. If there were one or two reasons as to why the banking federation agreed to undertake the 50% haircut on Greek debt, which was so important for us, it was because Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy demanded that they do so. I for one welcomed that step and I am pleased that it happened.

That does not answer the question about how we go forward and how we deal with this very delicate balance in the future. It goes back to the question of how we want to govern ourselves in the European Union, most particularly how we want to govern ourselves in the eurozone. We have a big process of reflection to undertake. We do not have the luxury or the time to do it right now with the crisis gathering around us like a storm. We must deal with the immediate crisis with the instruments we have available to us but post this crisis, when we resolve the issue in the eurozone, in regard to the EFSF we must address the wider issue of governance. I support entirely Senator Michael D'Arcy's comments on that, the ECB must be the backstop against contagion. It is the only option. I have blogged about that on my website and I have spoken about it in media interviews in recent days. That is an essential element to the current crisis but when we move beyond that we must have a much broader reflection. This country must not alone participate in it but we must lead it. I have been working on developing links with my counterparts and with key stakeholders in all of the member states about how we move forward and find solutions to the governance issue that challenges the European Union in the future. However, now is not the time. Between now and Christmas we must find a lasting and credible solution to the current financial crisis. It is in all our interests to do so. Our very economic existence is at stake. I do not think that is to overstate the severity and the seriousness of the matter but beyond that we must reflect and have a process of engagement with each other where we ask how we want the European institutions to coexist in future with the member states, and how we find a way in which the small member states can be valued and encouraged and have a meaningful role in decision making at a European level alongside the big member states who we need because of their economic and political clout. Those issues are important but I would not like to see us indulge in that type of discussion at this moment when we need a solution to the urgent and serious crisis we face. It is a discussion for another day. Perhaps I could return to the House for a good discussion about it when the time comes.