Ms Máire Geoghegan-Quinn:

I will begin with economic issues that were raised in the earlier debate, as well as just now. If we are to win the hearts and minds of people all over Europe, and get them to believe as strongly as they did in the past in the European project, we must be able to show that not alone are we putting in place banking union, a single supervisory mechanism, an extension of loan maturities and an arrangement dealing with promissory notes, on the flip side of the coin we must produce policies that create growth and jobs. The Minister for Social Protection has successfully introduced a new scheme aimed at youth unemployment. We must look at the individual policies the European Commission has put forward and where there are barriers or too much red tape, we can cut that red tape significantly to make it easier for people to be able to access funding so the policies do what they say on the tin. Those are the challenges we face in the European Union at the moment.

When ordinary people talk about Europe, they do not necessarily distinguish between the different institutions. There is the European Central Bank, the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers. Everything gets wrapped up together and people talk about "Brussels" being responsible for all of this.

This is very difficult, as I am sure it is when a Member of Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann tells people down the country that Dublin is not responsible for everything that has occurred. It is very easy for people in the country to blame Dublin and people in Dublin to blame Brussels. It is important, however, that they realise that the Commission, under President Barroso, is engaged at every level in finding solutions to the problems faced by ordinary men and women across Europe, nowhere more so than in Ireland.

The Commission appreciates the huge sacrifice that has been made by ordinary people in correcting something they did not create and is seeking to find policies that can address the issues. As I stated, all the Commission's proposals have been put on the table with the specific aim of alleviating the problem and ensuring that what took place in the past can never happen again. We must never again have loose regulation. The Commission has proposed a proper banking union and much work is being done on this issue. People must show a little patience, which is not always easy. They need to realise that this will not be done by one organisation or institution but a combination of all the European institutions working together. What we are trying to achieve in Europe is to put in place the types of policies, structures and procedures that will ensure we take the best route forward to support economic recovery in the Union as a whole and in Europe in general.

The Government deserves tremendous praise for everything it has done, including the decision of the informal ECOFIN Council to extend the loan maturities. This agreement was a very important political development as it will facilitate a full return to the market and assist Ireland in exiting the troika programme. The Commission attaches great importance to the issue of a banking union, which was discussed again yesterday by President Barroso. Such a union would make possible direct recapitalisation of banks by the European Stability Mechanism and break the link between bank and sovereign debt. This issue is on the table and it is one the Commission supports and to which it is committed. An historic agreement was reached on the single supervisory mechanism under the Irish Presidency. Ireland assumed the Presidency at a time of great significance when important decisions affecting the future of Ireland and Europe must be made.

Senator Colm Burke asked whether fragmentation and duplication will cause problems. One of the issues of crucial importance to us in developing Horizon 2020 was the need to focus on what is known as smart specialisation. This involves studying a country or region, deciding what are its strengths and investing in and developing these strengths. I am responsible for another area of policy in the Commission, the joint research centre, which established a smart specialisation platform in its institute in Seville. Various regions in the European Union have worked in this platform to develop a smart specialisation strategy. As Senators will be aware, the Commission made country specific recommendations and noted areas where countries are weak and on which they must concentrate greater effort. This happens in my policy area and other policy areas.

This is the month of the brain, a proposal and policy that is strongly supported by the European Commission. I am frequently tackled about spending more research funding in health than in any other area. I make no apology to anybody for doing so because health research is fundamentally important.

I concur with Senator Crown on the clinical services directive. The directorate general for which I have responsibility and the joint research centre have worked with Commissioner Borg in this area to try to find a solution that is helpful as opposed to putting in place barriers or obstacles to research. Stem cell research, for example, is an issue that frequently generates considerable controversy in Europe. We have a strict formula in place which allows such research to take place under certain circumstances. This has not created a problem in FP7 and will not create a problem in Horizon 2020.

Open access is very important, as Senator Clune pointed out. The wonderful results of research must be available to be used for innovation and to develop and market technologies. Open access is the default position of Horizon 2020. We support both "gold" access and open access. Where one has significant public funding given over to research, the results must be made available for use by those who want to do so.

On women entrepreneurs, the Commission introduced an initiative to get girls more interested in science. We must also consider how we educate people as we have tended to educate them to become employees rather than employers. This is an area on which education systems across Europe are working. While the Commission does not have a competence in this area, it is an issue of which Commissioner Vassiliou has been highly supportive.

Agriculture and the Common Fisheries Policy were raised. The Commission is heavily involved in agriculture. For example, we published a new policy communication on the bio-economy last July, which will be of great significance. A sum of €4.5 billion has been committed to research in agriculture. Given that the role of research and research funding in agriculture was not widely discussed until recently, these developments constitute a major step forward. I work closely with Commissioner Cioloş in developing this area.

On the Common Fisheries Policy, the Taoiseach will be involved, with the Commission, in the launch of the Atlantic strategy at the end of this month. Although the European Union, the United States and South America have done significant research on the Atlantic, the findings have not been brought together. The new strategy attempts to do so. If we are honest, we will admit to knowing much more about what occurs above water than below sea level. There are so many opportunities and good projects being examined in this area. In Limerick, for example, research is being done on producing bio-fuels from algae. The area of medicines and so forth also offer significant potential.

We need to do a great deal of work with parents to address the gap in knowledge between parents and teachers. To take a successful case, Galway has been holding a major science and technology festival for many years. Parents and schoolchildren of all ages visit the festival, which is held on the grounds of University College Galway and companies and researchers from the university and Galway Institute of Technology are involved. The event provides hands-on experience and deserves to be replicated around the country.

Cutting red tape was the objective of Horizon 2020. The strategy will create a single set of funding rules and one port of call and will be interpreted in the same way across all the services of the Commission. We received tremendous support in this from the Council of Ministers and European Parliament.

A major conference on the strategic energy technology plan, attended by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, was held in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham yesterday. The Commission is committed to renewable energies in all the areas to which Senator Leyden referred. Ireland is already involved in research into alternative energies and now has many opportunities to bring them to the marketplace.

Food research and novel foods are strongly linked to health. More money needs to be invested in certain areas of food research.

Crowd funding is another issue in which the Commission is strongly interested. As I indicated, the lack of venture capital in Europe during the crisis is a major concern for companies, researchers and so forth. A passport for venture capital fund is available and the Commission has done considerable work with business angel networks. We are providing support in many areas.

Close co-operation is needed in the area of education.

Commissioner Vassiliou and I are working very closely together on this. It is probably an area in which, if we had competence, we could do even more but there is much we can do by encouragement.

There is the most thorny issue of all, and I cannot finish without talking about it. Senator Zappone asked me what I thought about the Seanad.