Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I agree with speakers who said we need to look at the long-term composition of the European Parliament constituencies. I contested the European Parliament election and am still paying off some of the loans for that election. I make no apologies for saying that and have no regrets about the decision I took in contesting it. If I was asked, I would do so all over again because it is important to have strong representation at European level. I certainly learned a lot in the two years I spent there but I also made a contribution. All of our MEPs down through the years have made a substantial contribution.

I am concerned about the size of the constituencies. In the long-term, we should look at the possibility of 11 one-seat constituencies because candidates will face a financial drain and it will be a problem with which they will have to deal when elected, as will those who do not get elected. We might have a situation in this election where someone might get more than 100,000 votes but not get elected even though to get elected to this Chamber, one may need as few as 40 votes. It is a comparison at which we should look.

In terms of getting strong representation, we need to ensure people are not under financial pressure when trying to do their job as Members of the European Parliament. The media reports about earnings and expenses are not accurate. I remember doing an interview with a media person in 2009 and his salary was ten times the salary I earned but we were being hammered left, right and centre about expenses. Receipts must be produced for all expenses but the media did not buy into that.

The other issue I have about the European Parliament is the coverage by our national broadcaster. It is outrageous that it is only given coverage once a month after midnight on a Sunday. It is an institution which plays a very important part in legislation on which we must follow through here. We should ask the national broadcaster why it only provides coverage after midnight on a Sunday once a month as it is not good enough. Even if it was confined to one night a month, then at least have it at a reasonable hour. We should ensure the 12 Members of the European Parliament get recognition for the work they do because I do not believe they are getting that recognition.

We will now be down to 11 Members of the European Parliament. Given the number of committees in the Parliament, it will mean there will be some committees on which there will be no representation from Ireland because it would be physically impossible for 11 Members to serve on more than 25 committees, although I am open to correct on that number, or even to monitor them. That is something which needs to be taken into account in any further discussions on the composition of the European Parliament.

It also means that as a country we should try to give more support to the Members of the European Parliament who will be elected after May. We do not give our MEPs sufficient support.

There has been an obvious disconnection from Europe over the past three or four years. We did not get the message out about the good things done at European level. Agriculture is the one area that produces a positive message about benefits. There are many other benefits, such as access to the market and health and safety measures, for example, the toy safety directive. Many people could not understand that sub-standard products were coming into Europe. Through the intervention of the European Commissioner, many products were taken off the market. That applied in other areas, for example, in the health sector. More co-operation across Europe is reaping benefits for all of us. We are not selling that positive message. We need to give more support to the elected Members of the European Parliament, regardless of party or whether they are independent. That is something we should do after the European elections, for the following five years.