Colm Burke (Fine Gael)

I compliment Senator Coghlan for never missing an opportunity. It reminds me of when Cork became European capital of culture and it was decided by those in Kerry that they would celebrate 250 years of tourism in Kerry. They never miss an opportunity.

I agree with Senator O'Brien on the issue of European legislation and directives. I have already suggested that we set aside two days a months in which to deal with European affairs. A directive was put in place in Europe in February 2011 and I recently made contact with a Department on its transposition to Irish law, only to find that nobody in the Department knows of the directive. The Department in question does not know about a directive that has been in place for over 12 months, which highlights the disconnect between the public and Europe and even within Departments. There is an urgent need to have a set period in this House in which to deal with European issues and legislation. That could be brought to public attention at a very early date and I ask for this proposal to be taken on board. I know the Leader has written to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission with regard to staff allocation but there is an opportunity for us to air issues coming from Europe, including legislation, directives and regulation.