Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understood they had been circulated. If Senators have not received a copy, I apologise and will ensure they receive one immediately.

As I stated, I was contacted 12 or 18 months by constituents asking how best they could protect their money and ensure their wealth would be preserved in the event of the eurozone breaking up. A number of prominent economists and commentators spoke about a eurozone break-up at the time. One economist predicted it would break up in a matter of days or weeks, while others argued that only months were left to save the eurozone. The economic apocalypse that would have ensued has been averted through strong decisions that were made to ensure the euro remained secure and the eurozone survived and prospered. People believed that many of the changes made in that period would be virtually impossible to implement. The European Stability Mechanism offers support to member states and other new machinery was created and retrofitted to the currency to ensure it would be able to square up and meet the challenges it faced at that time.

While the worst of our fears did not come to pass, the European recovery is still at a fragile stage. Senators are familiar with the challenges faced by Europe and Ireland, the most important of which is the unacceptably high level of unemployment. As we seek to manage the consequences of the deep crisis, it is worth emphasising that the European Union has enlarged with the accession of Croatia as its 28th member state. This was a gigantic achievement on the part of Croatia given the scale of the difficulties and challenges it had to manage. I am pleased to note that Ireland will shortly open an embassy in Zagreb to deepen our relationships and working arrangements with the newest member of the European Union.

I referred to the difficulties faced by the eurozone and the deep challenges we continue to face. Last month, Latvia became the 18th member of the eurozone. This illustrates the faith the newer EU member states have in the ability of the euro to assist them in meeting the aspiration of their citizens to have sustainable and functioning economies. The European Union and eurozone are larger now than they were when we were in the depths of crisis. This gives us a degree of confidence about the challenges we need to navigate and the opportunities we need to grasp.

For Ireland, 2013 was an extraordinary year in that we completed another successful Presidency of the European Council and became the first eurozone country to successfully exit an EU-IMF programme. The work in recent years, in particular in the past 12 months, has done much to rebuild Ireland's image and profile in Europe and restore confidence in our economy and the wider European system. While much work remains to be done, we can take some pride in our achievements.

Against this backdrop, our colleagues in Greece have assumed the Presidency of the European Council. Late last year, I travelled to Athens to meet the Greek Prime Minister, Mr. Antonis Samaras, and EU Affairs Minister, Mr. Kourkoulas, to discuss the Greek priorities for the Presidency. I shared our experiences of the Presidency, outlining our preparations for the six-month term and the lessons we learned from it. I also described the work we had done to develop our relationships with the institutions and the intensive efforts we made to make progress on particular priorities and files with the Commission, Parliament and other member states. I heard about the significant challenges Greece faces as a country and during its Presidency. I also observed the tremendous efforts it is making to rise to these challenges.

The Greek Presidency is now five weeks old and it is apparent already that Greece is committed to delivering a successful Presidency which will contribute to a European and Greek recovery. Greece has set out a number of priorities on which it wishes to deliver.

Its first priority is growth, jobs and cohesion; its second priority is further integration within the EU and the eurozone; its third priority is progress on migration, borders and mobility; and its final priority is progress on maritime policy. Ireland welcomes these priorities. We are actively working with the Presidency to secure progress in each area.

From Ireland's perspective, ensuring the stability of the eurozone and consolidating economic growth remain the most important priorities on our agenda. The start of our recovery can be traced to the June 2012 European Council, at which agreement was reached to break the link between sovereign and banking debt. If the recovery we have set in train is to be consolidated, it is absolutely imperative that European leaders continue to follow through on this commitment in full. It is clear that banking union will do much to ensure the stability of the economic and monetary union which is necessary for lasting prosperity. The finalisation of agreement on the single resolution mechanism and the single resolution fund is a key priority for Ireland. We welcome the priority that the Greek Presidency has accorded to the development of both of these priorities.

Further measures are required to bolster economic growth and create employment in the short and longer terms. The enhanced Stability and Growth Pact and the Europe 2020 strategy form the blueprints in this regard. The European Council will consider an interim assessment of Europe 2020 when it meets in March. This presents an opportunity to focus on the jobs and growth agenda and to consider how efforts to address youth unemployment and support the financing of small and medium sized enterprises through the European Investment Bank can be refined and improved. I will give an example of the progress the European Investment Bank is making in this regard. The lending it is making available to Ireland is a multiple of the kind of lending we got from that institution in the past. That is already leading to practical results. I refer, for example, to the progress that is being made with the construction of the new DIT campus at Grangegorman, which is being enabled by support from the European Investment Bank. Similar work is taking place on the Luas BXD line, which will run through Dublin. This is a practical example of the kind of support the European Investment Bank is enabling in member states by means of investment.

The European semester is at the heart of the EU's stronger post-crisis economic governance arrangements. Following the completion of the EU-IMF programme, Ireland will participate fully in the semester this year. National parliaments have an important role to play in this process, for example, by explaining it to the public. That responsibility is particularly relevant for Ireland, given that this will be our first experience of the semester. Many other countries are now moving into their fourth period of operation of the semester. Following our exit from the programme, we are now going into our first period of operation.

I welcome the recent engagement of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs with the Secretary General of the European Commission, Catherine Day, to discuss parliamentary engagement in the European semester. This theme arose when I attended a meeting of the joint committee this morning before I came to this House. Senator Noone, who was also in attendance, raised issues with me at that meeting. One of the points I made at the meeting was that it is important for the Oireachtas, including the Seanad and the committees, to take time to decide what role it should have in the work that will take place as part of the semester process. A great deal of work will place at Government level in the coming period, particularly in the run-up to the summer, regarding how we want to make an input into and work with that process. It is very important for Members of the Oireachtas, across all political parties, to understand the nature of this work. It will be a new experience for this country. Members of the Oireachtas should also avail of the opportunity to make an input into that process so that their views can be made known.

The objective of this process is to deliver stronger economic governance. Ireland will continue to follow up on some important priorities alongside that. We will focus on the deepening of the European Single Market and on steps to enhance business access to credit and stimulate external trade. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which was launched under the auspices of the Irish Presidency, is a very important example of an area in which we want to continue to make progress. We support the Greek Presidency's work on the priority actions under the Single Market Act. We continue to support the European Commission in pursuing ambitious free trade agreements with key partners. I am sure Senator Leyden will respond to some of the comments I am making. I recall a number of occasions on which he made reference to the support he gave to Irish investment abroad when he served as Minister of State. He always acknowledged the role of bodies like the EU in driving investment and emphasised the need for Ireland to be represented on such bodies.