Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Jim Higgins, MEP. In a sense it is a welcome home, given that he spent a number of years in the Seanad. He made a valuable contribution during his time in both the Dáil and the Seanad. I also thank him for his assistance during my brief period in the European Parliament. Working there with him and his staff and all of the Irish MEPs was a huge learning exercise for me. The contribution MEPs make at European level is not given the recognition it deserves. One of the problems is that the number is so small it is difficult for the media to focus on the work they are doing.

It was important that Mr. Higgins opened his address by mentioning President Michael D. Higgins; the former President, Mrs. Mary Robinson; and the former Taoiseach, the late Dr. Garret FitzGerald. It is interesting that their careers started in this House. Not only did they make a major contribution as Members of this House but both President Michael D. Higgins and Mrs. Mary Robinson are making a huge contribution to public life many years after leaving this House. It is important to recognise this.

Mr. Higgins mentioned the Irish Presidency and his invitation to Poland. It is interesting that he mentioned this because I happened to be Lord Mayor of Cork in 2004 when the ten new member states joined the European Union. On that day, 1 May, a number of cities around the country were designated for each new member state. Slovakia, for example, was assigned to Cork. On that day we closed off Patrick Street in Cork and allowed the Slovakian community to set up stalls on the street in order that they could display what they had to offer to us in Ireland. It was an interesting exercise. It might be interesting to return to it on Europe Day and perhaps assign a country to 27 cities and towns around the country. After the end of June it will be 28. It would be a useful exercise as regards making a connection with other countries in Europe.

There is also the significance of the markets to which we have access. We have access to a market of more than 500 million people. While people might be critical of the European Union, the great benefit for Ireland has been having access to such a huge market. In gaining access to that market we have retained our access to the American market which is also making a very valuable contribution to the economy.

Mr. Higgins mentioned the increased powers of the European Parliament. It is very important that our Members of the European Parliament are effective and work to protect Ireland's interests at the same time as helping the European economy and the European Union generally to continue to develop. On Tuesday last I was in London to attend a global diplomatic forum on European security and defence policy. It was interesting to listen to the contributions and hear about how America was stepping back in terms of the support and protection it has provided for Europe in the past 50 years. We must be conscious of this.

While there is no discussion on changing Ireland's role as a neutral country, we can still play a very important part in a security and defence role.

It was interesting to note the role played by Ireland in joining with France and a number of other countries, and how we stepped into the breach in regard to Chad. We provided protection for more than 500,000 people in refugees camps and IDP sites. The issue is Europe's role in working with the UN. Ireland has a triple lock system, whereby a UN mandate, Government approval and the approval of Dáil Éireann are required. We need to examine how we can continue in that role, while working with our European colleagues. We have a very valuable contribution to make.

We need to be very conscious of the need for MEPs to get the necessary support. There are over 20 committees in the European Parliament and Irish MEPs sit on 14 of them, which means we have no direct representation on six committees. It emphasises the need for MEPs to get the necessary support to make sure we are watching all the issues in the Parliament, which now has more power. The permanent representatives which are giving support are extremely important. MEPs have research staff and it is extremely important that they get the necessary funding and support to make sure they are able to do the work they are required to do. In my time in the European Parliament I always found research staff worked extremely hard to give backup support to MEPs.

Mr. Higgins touched on a number of interesting issues, such as CAP and the fisheries policy. The three years the Minister, Deputy Coveney, spent in the European Parliament have been hugely beneficial in dealing with those issues and other countries, and coming to an agreement. There is clear evidence that the experience has been a factor in his contribution.

I again thank Mr. Higgins for his contribution to the Dáil, Seanad and European Parliament. It is extremely important that we continue to provide the necessary space for MEPs to make their contributions, and to get the information into the public domain and the media. I wish him well in his future career.