Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I thank the Senators who made contributions before and after my arrival. The support for the legislation across the political divide is heartening. I did not hear a harsh word against it. Some concerns were expressed, but there was strong support for this Bill.

I recognise the presence of the Croatian ambassador, Her Excellency, Ms Jasna Ognjanovac, who I have known since my time as Chairman of the then Joint Committee on European Affairs. She participated in our meetings regularly. I am delighted that her country will join the EU on 1 July 2013. It would have been great had that been scheduled during the Irish Presidency - the day before would have sufficed - but we cannot have that.

I was also heartened by the fact that almost 67% of Croatian people voted in favour of joining the EU in January before its accession was ratified by its Parliament in March. Despite our economic difficulties, the people of Croatia believe their future lies with the 27 member states of the EU, which is welcome. From an Irish point of view, Croatia has always been welcome to the EU.

I will address a number of points that were raised during my presence. Difficulties concerning scrutiny under the Lisbon treaty were mentioned. The treaty may have faults, but it provides for a greater level of democracy and transparency in EU institutions than used to exist. Decisions by the Council of Ministers must be made in public, which was not the case previously. MEPs, who are directly elected by member states, now have decision making powers equal to those of the European Council, which comprises Heads of State and Government. Extra powers have been granted under the treaty. For example, new powers were granted to the Oireachtas and other parliaments in respect of the Commission's agendas. Under the treaty, we have the power to introduce material prior to the annual programme's drafting, to scrutinise and to hold the Commission to account. If we utilised these powers to their fullest, they would be even greater. I would welcome this development.

Our programme for Government clearly outlines a greater level of scrutiny. Senator Healy Eames claimed that there was too little scrutiny. Under the programme for Government, we abolished the old scrutiny sub-committee of the Committee on European Affairs to ensure that each line ministry took responsibility for dealing with the issues relating to it. For example, European matters relating to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are scrutinised by the Department as well as its Oireachtas committee. This is the proper and local approach. Under it, there should be a greater level of informed scrutiny of directives and matters coming from Europe. This was the intention of the Lisbon treaty and the programme for Government.

I take on board Senators' comments regarding the long-term plan for Europe's future. In particular, Senator Bradford referred to the need for a substantive debate. Such a debate in both Houses would be worthwhile. Revisiting the principles under which the EU was founded would be useful. They were principles of solidarity between all of the countries in Europe after the devastation of Second World War, which destroyed many people's lives. It was a peace process. John Hume has put on record his belief that it is the greatest peace process that the world has ever experienced, bringing together countries that had been at one another's throats. It is also a mechanism for achieving prosperity on the European mainland and islands through pooling the resources and sovereignty of its states.

The Bill will transpose into the law of the State significant developments at EU level. I welcome this opportunity to debate important EU instruments in the Oireachtas. There is no more appropriate place for such a debate. The purpose of the Bill as originally tabled by the Government at the beginning of last month was to amend the European Communities Act 1972 to provide for the protocol amending the protocol on transitional provisions annexed to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, agreed in Brussels on 23 June 2010, and for the European Council decision of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for member states whose currency is the euro.

On Committee Stage in the Dáil, the Select Committee on European Union Affairs adopted a number of Government amendments, the purpose of which was to provide that the treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the EU, agreed in Brussels on 9 December 2011, and the protocol on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, agreed in Brussels on 16 May 2012, will form part of our domestic law. Thus, with the passage of this Bill as amended, these four elements would, upon ratification by Ireland, become a part of the domestic law of the State.

At the time of the Bill's publication at the beginning of May, the protocol on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon had not yet been signed. Each will now begin their respective national ratification procedures. All the concerns of the Irish people appended at the time of the Lisbon treaty and which were to be introduced as part of a protocol to the next treaty have now been signed off by the member states and will shortly be ratified. That relates to taxation, family matters and neutrality, and the three protocols will be part of the treaties when this process is completed.

When the EU Heads of State and Government agreed on the terms of the Irish protocol at the June 2009 European Council meeting, it was indicated that at the time of the conclusion of the next accession treaty, the provisions of the decision on the concerns of the Irish people on the Treaty of Lisbon would be set out in a protocol to be attached to the EU treaties. The Irish protocol and the Croatian accession treaty are thus linked in time. It is for that reason that these elements were not included in this Bill as originally drafted and why the Government moved the amendments to incorporate both these instruments into this Bill on Committee Stage in the Dáil.

The resulting amended European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012 before the House remains a brief and largely straightforward Bill, although those qualities should not take away from its significance both for Ireland and for the European Union. The amendment to Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union will provide the legal underpinning to the permanent European Stability Mechanism, ESM, which is to enter into force next month and which is the subject of a separate Bill, the European Stability Mechanism Bill 2012, which is also under consideration by these Houses.

The MEPs protocol provides for 12 member states to have due levels of representation in the European Parliament as provided for under the Lisbon treaty in the current term of the Parliament, from 2009 to 2014. The effects of the MEPs protocol will thus be entirely temporary, impacting as it does only the composition of the current European Parliament, which was elected some months prior to the entry into force of the Lisbon treaty. Ireland's number of MEPs is unaffected by this protocol.

The Croatian access treaty paves the way for Croatia to join the European Union as a new member state from the middle of next year. Ireland has long been a solid supporter of the EU's enlargement policy and Croatia's accession to the European Union is an extremely positive development for the country and the EU. It is profoundly encouraging that even at a time of major challenge for the European Union, European countries continue to see their future within the Union and go to great lengths to prepare themselves, their markets and their people for EU accession. The Government warmly welcomes Croatia and applauds the significant strides it has taken. We look forward to working very closely with Croatia in the years ahead as a new EU partner.

The Irish legal guarantees protocol, as promised to the Irish people in June 2009, is now delivered by the European Union precisely in accordance with the timetable agreed in 2009. The legal guarantees were important for Ireland and the Irish people and a concrete reflection of the Union's willingness to listen to members and citizens, and respond constructively. The transformation of these legal guarantees into a protocol to the European treaties is hard evidence that the EU delivers on its promises in this instance to the Irish people.

As I mentioned at the outset, I warmly welcome the broad cross-party support for this Bill and the positive and constructive engagement with it by the Members of this House. The Government looks forward to continuing the engagement of the Houses of the Oireachtas in all the relevant business of the European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon has given national parliaments a greater and more defined role than ever in the business of the Union; that is as it should be. Those responsibilities are taken extremely seriously by the Houses of the Oireachtas and I commend this House for the role played in the process.

On the part of the Government, we are committed to engaging with the Houses of the Oireachtas and the Irish people on European Union business to the greatest degree possible. We have done so to a very significant extent since coming to office last year but engaging with the Irish people on EU affairs is something that will become all the more important over time, and especially as we seek to navigate a stable and secure future for our common currency and our Union over the months and years ahead. Democratic legitimacy and accountability are equally critical at the EU and national level. The Government will be steadfast in seeking to ensure that what is done at EU level also meets those benchmarks. The role to be played by the Houses of the Oireachtas will be central in that regard.

Our debate in the House on the European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2012 plays a part in this important process of engagement and I commend the Bill to the House.