Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I might detain people but I shall make my contribution nonetheless. I welcome the Minister of State. He is probably one of the most frequent visitors to the House and is always extremely welcome.

We have often heard about a scrutinising role during discourse here. Even yesterday, during the Seanad discussions with the Taoiseach, it was stated that the House could play a key role in the scrutinising of EU legislation which is true.

Ireland must develop a more mature approach to Europe. In the past we always had a begging bowl approach to Europe instead of feeling that we were equal and had a significant positive contribution to make to Europe, as opposed to getting money from Europe. As a result we did not properly scrutinise many of the decisions that Europe made over the years, unlike other countries.

I consider Irish people to be very compliant Europeans. As I have said before, all one must do is examine food safety legislation and directives from Europe on environmental health. Let me give the example of a small pub in west Clare that wants to sell soup and sandwiches or provide small bits of food. That pub must comply with myriad regulations concerning all sorts of things such as food hygiene, HACCP, and the provision of various facilities, toilet facilities and so on. If one visits the west coast of Spain or France one will discover little shebeens that serve full meals without the facilities provided in a pub in the west of Ireland. We are all Europeans and the directives should apply to southern Spain in the same way that they do to west Clare. Irish people are extremely compliant and Ireland seems to be the first to implement a lot of the decisions made in Europe but that is unhealthy. We should cast a critical eye on EU directives just like everybody else. We should be a bit more mature in terms of what we can and cannot accept. We should not be afraid to argue when a measure is too prohibitive. In this country businesses suffer considerably from red tape and regulations and must operate in an overly regulated environment. I blame the EU for a lot of that situation. We need a much more simplified structure which could have happened had we scrutinised EU measures a lot more. Unfortunately, we did not do so.

That said, I am a glass half full type of person. I believe that the Fianna Fáil proposal has provided us with an opportunity to have a discourse on Europe and how we filter European policy. Nowadays people expect us to be on top of every matter so every European instrument needs to be properly scrutinised.

I agree with Senator Bacik's comments on the recent work done by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. My experience of working on the committee has been very positive because the Minister, Deputy Shatter has a fundamental belief in the committee system and refers practically all major legislation to same. Where the heads of Bills are published the committee will engage in a consultation process which has already happened with gambling legislation and other legislation. That is a good use of the committee system but requires a lot more dedication and work on the part of the Members who serve on a committee.

I spent last weekend perusing an awful lot of submissions and information on the proposed gambling legislation. The legislation will impact on people's lives and revenue streams of the country in a very positive manner. The committee's work on the legislation has been extremely positive and that can be applied elsewhere, not just legislation. I gave the gambling legislation as an example but we need to carry out similar scrutiny on EU directives and legislation. Regrettably, that has not happened. All that we can do is learn from past mistakes and work towards a more fulfilled engagement with Europe where what is decided, positive or negative, is channelled back to Europe. We should not be afraid to articulate the Irish situation, beliefs, culture and heritage within the greater European structure.

The begging bowl syndrome is a thing of the past when glorious headlines indicated that if this treaty was passed, it would be worth €9 billion to Ireland. That is a very negative basis on which to engage. We could achieve much more in terms of the impact on our culture and way of life, based on the European model, if we were to put in place a formalised structure for positive engagement.