Mr. Gay Mitchell, MEP:

I thank Senator O'Sullivan for his kind words and for the vote. The idea of rapporteurship would work here. The inter-institutional agreement, IIA, may be useful and we could borrow it. There could be an inter-institutional agreement between the Government, the Dáil and the Seanad to remove adversarial politics in some circumstances. This in turn would require Members to take responsibility as well as having a right to have their say. This should be explored. Matters could be decided without the whip but people would have to take responsibility.

I thank Senator Bacik for her kind comments. She is right about the issues of conflict and poverty. The European Union is not just the most significant contributor to Palestine but it is also the most significant contributor to the Middle East. Tony Blair is a former President of the European Council. He is very involved in the Middle East. He reports to the European Parliament from time to time. When I was a Minister, David Owen had that position. However, these individuals do not earn any publicity. The US Secretary of State is given massive publicity even though the European Union is the most significant contributor. The situation is at an early developmental stage. There is a Palestinian friendship group.

There is also an Israeli friendship group. Some of us take the view that if one is to have rows with the Israelis, they should be held privately, thereby resulting in a better chance of being heard by the Israelis. I certainly try to raise my concerns with them. I also try to raise with the other side the right of Israel to exist. Everybody hopes the outcome will be a two-state solution. In the meantime, we need a humanitarian approach to dealing with the issues.

The question of the origin of food, raised by Senator Noone, has been pursued strongly by my colleague Mairead McGuinness. The origin of food is a really important issue for us and there are people exercised by it. Ms McGuinness will be addressing the House soon and the issue may be raised with her. She has been very active in this area. I thank Senator Noone for her kind comments.

I thank Senator Keane for mentioning Norma, the power behind the throne. She is always the person who takes the leadership role on all the issues we need to address. I thank the Senator for her kind words about me and my brother.

Senator Keane asked whether the European Union is as proactive as it used to be. It is. It is very much an issue on the agenda of the Parliament, Commission and Council. At present, we are exercised by access to boardrooms by female non-executive directors. I do not generally favour quotas but I did support the 40% quota because we just have to do something to break down the barriers. With regard to executive directors, there is an effort to persuade companies to put in place a voluntary programme in this regard. These are issues that greatly concern the European Union at a very central stage. There is a women's affairs committee in the Parliament and it is very active.

It has been a great honour to have had the opportunity to address the Seanad on this special occasion. My colleagues will be looking forward to appearing before it also. I spoke about the foundation of the State and what happened in 1916. This is the national Parliament of our country and I am very proud of it. I am very proud to be a member of the European Parliament. I was a member of Dáil Eireann for 26 years and am really very proud of our Parliament and what it has achieved. It is really time that, in addition to giving criticism where it is due, we returned to giving credit where it is due. There should be a greater balance in the way we address the issues of the day. Greater credit must be given to the role of Deputies and Senators in the functioning of the Parliament. There is nothing in it for the Seanad this morning to have me here. However, it is useful exercise. It has certainly been a useful exercise for me and it helps me to focus to a greater extent on what the Senators regard as relevant. I sometimes wonder whether I have got it right. This certainly helps me to do that.