Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Creighton, to the House. I compliment her on the wonderful work she is doing and the image of our country she is projecting. She is doing a wonderful job to help to restore this country's reputation in Europe and internationally. I agree with Senator Leyden that as we campaign in advance of this vital referendum, we need to be conscious of the importance of this country's membership of the EU for our ongoing economic recovery. At no stage during Ireland's 40 years as a member state has it been more important for us to play a central role in the action in Europe. Those campaigning for a "No" vote need to take that on board.

This will be the seventh time Ireland has held the Presidency of the EU and the first time since 2004. It will be a challenging and exciting opportunity for Ireland. Over the years, this country has built a reputation for having an effective Presidency. I do not doubt we will do an excellent job again on this occasion, despite the limited resources mentioned by the Minister of State. It is a more challenging task on this occasion because the EU now has 27 member states.

The Minister of State must feel like someone who is getting ready to receive an important visitor in a few months. A great deal of groundwork has to be done and many plans have to be put in place. We will have a huge opportunity to showcase Ireland and to convey to Europe important messages about our own economic recovery and our future potential. We should use the huge media interest in Ireland's Presidency of the EU to our best advantage, for example, by promoting tourism, the Irish agrifood industry, our successful multinational sector, our educational facilities and many other successful aspects of our economy. We want to transmit the message that Ireland is truly open for business. We must let the world know that.

Our Presidency of the EU will allow us to set the agenda for the first half of 2013. We all want to focus on the issues of greatest concern to the Irish people and the people of Europe as a whole. I do not doubt the ongoing financial crisis in Europe, the stability of the euro and the need to ease our debt burden will be on the agenda, and a great deal of time will be devoted to them. Job creation and economic growth in Ireland and across Europe have to be priorities for us. It is unacceptable that approximately 440,000 people are unemployed. We must continue to improve our competitiveness.

During the recent French presidential election, there was a great deal of discussion on the importance of growth for European economic recovery. This has been promoted by our Government in the past year. I hope all member states will work closely to develop growth initiatives during our Presidency, which will have a key role in driving the EU's ambitious employment, innovation, education, social inclusion, climate change and energy objectives, which have to be achieved by 2020.

The Minister of State mentioned our vital national interest in the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and the Common Fisheries Policy. We hope significant progress will be made in those respects during Ireland's Presidency of the EU. The agrifood area is of great importance to our economic recovery. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, who has been in this House on two occasions recently, is doing a wonderful job to promote innovation in agriculture. The agrifood sector has the potential to be a real driver of growth for the future. The Minister has spoken about Ireland's plans to produce enough food to feed between 50 million and 60 million people by 2020.

We must keep the interests of small and medium sized enterprises on the agenda during our Presidency of the EU. We have to find ways of making it easier for such businesses to access research, development and innovation programmes.

We need to prioritise the provision of help for the poorest people in the world. The Seanad debated the review of the White Paper on Irish Aid yesterday. As a nation, we have always been proud of the help we have given to the most vulnerable people in society. We should pursue this area with vigour.

I wish the Minister of State and the Government well during Ireland's Presidency of the EU. I know they will do the country proud.