Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms Harkin. I learned a lot from her during my brief period in the European Parliament. I am delighted to hear that she is involved in the globalisation fund because it played an important part in the Limerick and Waterford regions. I remember dealing with the fund when a problem arose in these areas. The lack of knowledge of the existence of the fund - even the Government of the day was not aware of its existence - highlights the lack of knowledge of European directives and regulations. When the Dell announcement was made, the Government was unaware of the existence of the fund, but I highlighted it. I found it interesting that when it arranged a meeting with the Commissioner within seven days of the announcement, the Commission responded quickly and amended the regulations because Dell workers at the time did not qualify for funding. The rule was clear that the jobs had to be moving outside Europe, but the Commission responded positively and quickly because it saw the need to amend the regulations. In the case of Limerick, the jobs were moving to Poland which was within the European Union.

Owing to the changes that have occurred in recent years, people now have a huge interest in what is going on in the European Union. I remember canvassing during the Lisbon treaty campaign in 2008 and at the time people said to me that they were sorry, that it had nothing to do with them, that they were getting nothing from the European Union and that it had no effect on their lives. People seemed to have more of a connection with US and UK politics than they had with European politics. That has now changed.

There is a huge lack with regard to flagging what is coming down the line regarding proposals made by the Commission. In November 2012 the Commission outlined its programme for 2013. How can we become more actively involved in dealing with what is on the Commission's programme as it goes through the programme during the year? In 2012 the Commission identified 129 items to be dealt with in 2013. However, we have not discussed even one of these proposals. How does Ms Harkin suggest the Seanad should deal with this issue?