David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House and the publication of the Bill which allows for the holding of the European elections. I wish the best of luck to all the candidates who will contest the forthcoming European and local elections.

I was a European election candidate in 2004 and my wife contested the European elections in 2009, so I know what it is like to be a candidate. The constituencies are bigger now, making it a big challenge for any candidate to cover the ground necessary during this campaign. That is one of the concerns many of us have about bigger constituencies and fewer MEPs. It also feeds into the perception of a democratic deficit for small states at the heart of Europe because big states can dominate and control the European Union. Whether that is a fear, a perception or a reality, it exists. Small states have to protect their interests as much as they can, which means keeping the maximum number of MEPs and our Commissioner.

I campaigned against the Lisbon treaty for a variety of reasons, including the proposed reduction of the Commission, which would mean that small states would have a Commissioner on a rotation basis. Ireland would not have had a full-time Commissioner. I hope that when the Minister is appointed, he will remember Sinn Féin and those who campaigned for Ireland’s right to have a Commissioner