Mr. Gay Mitchell, MEP:

I thank the three Senators for their kind comments. Senator Mooney asked about the powers following Lisbon. There are real powers following Lisbon. A number of parliaments recently made a submission and, while the Seanad was not one of them because it was not elected in time to do that, it could have had a real influence on how matters were decided.

My one and only book is called By Dáil Accountand is a history of Committee of Public Accounts and the Comptroller and Auditor General. At the end of that book, I talk about the Dáil and Seanad. It is a purely personal view but since it has been asked about, I will give it. I think the more the Seanad divorces itself from the Dáil, the more people will see its real importance. It always sounds very good saying we need a triple lock, UN approval and ratification by the Dáil and Seanad but the Seanad is not directly elected, as is the Dáil. There is an understanding that if the Dáil passes something, the Seanad should not frustrate it. The Seanad needs to divorce itself from that and could on its own through a select committee do more than just scrutinise legislation. For example, a number of Commissioners are coming here during our Presidency. I asked a few of them whether they would come to a meeting or meet with a group and they said would love to do so. When they come here, it should be an opportunity to get them to speak either to the Seanad or a select committee. It does not have to be in formal session. In the European Parliament, we use breakfasts, lunches and dinners. It would inform Senators and give them a chance to have their say. One would be stunned by the willingness on the part of the European institutions and part of the European bureaucracy to do this. I welcome the fact that the Seanad is organising to do that. I am a fan of the Seanad, which has the opportunity to do what adversarial politics prevents the Dáil from doing.

Mrs. Merkel is very popular. The two governing parties lost the recent state election but she will be leading the Christian Democratic Union into the general election. Nobody knows what will happen as the election is not until September but there is an expectation that she will be back as Chancellor, be it at the head of a grand coalition or the same Government. She has shown herself to be more accommodating than people give her credit for.

Senator Colm Burke mentioned the role of the Seanad and what I said partly covered that. I welcome the fact that the Seanad is calling MEPs to have this exchange. It is very useful for me to get some feel for the issues Senators really want to raise. Everybody is trying to set one's agenda by raising issues but it is really important for us to hear what Senators have to say. If one looks at the House of Lords and the House of Commons, one can see the House of Lords has a very powerful European committee which is quite separate from the House of Commons. The committee issues reports and visits the European Parliament quite regularly. Much of this is in the hands of the Seanad and I wish it well in respect of it.

Senator van Turnhout very kindly mentioned my role on the development committee. I am glad somebody noticed. I give it a lot of my time and am the European People's Party co-ordinator on that issue.