Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I, obviously, welcome the Minister of State. My question relates to the physical arrangements for the summits and other meetings. She indicated in her contribution that perhaps because of our economic difficulty the majority of meetings will be held in our capital. I appreciate that the holding of the Presidency must be economically efficient but it must also be effective. To be so, one of the Government's aspirations must be to use the Presidency to re-engage the citizens of Europe and, in particular, the citizens of Ireland with the institutions and the politics of the Union. I appreciate we cannot have meetings, seminars and European dialogue at every crossroads but we must try to maximise engagement between Irish citizens and officialdom. That must be one of the aspirations of the Presidency.

The former United States President, George H. W. Bush, referred to building a kinder, gentler America. We should use this Presidency to rebuild a kinder, gentler Europe with which the citizens feel more comfortable and at ease. We must take the Presidency to the people in so far as we can. I appreciate the need for economic effectiveness and efficiency but it is important that people, from Castletownbere to Donegal and Galway Bay to Rosslare, are all touched in some way by the Presidency and the meetings and politics of the Union.