Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I can touch on that as well.

With regard to peace building, Ireland has always been to the fore on peace building. We have always championed that voice and we will continue to do so, both on the European stage and on the global. That will not change.

We talk about EU co-operation being crucial. Different scenarios are being put forward on integration and the direction in which we should go, but I reiterate that these are not exclusive or exhaustive scenarios. They are proposals being put forward. The White Paper set out five scenarios. A sixth scenario has now been put into the mix, and a number of other declarations have been made.Again, we must use the debate here as a sounding board to bring forward our own views on Europe. In that regard, many Senators have touched on the requirement and need to have an all-island civic dialogue and to have engagement by absolutely everybody in this process. We need to crystalise our thinking of what kind of a Union we want, how we want to be part of it and how we want the European Union to work for our citizens. We need obviously to advance Ireland's interests while at the same time reiterating that we are one of 27 countries and will remain one of the 27. In the coming weeks, I hope at the beginning of November, I will launch a future of Europe civic dialogue and it will stem from engaging with young people. That means engaging with the children in our primary and secondary schools and engaging with our students in our colleges. It will involve engaging with our institutions and various different industries. Most important, it will involve engaging with our citizens throughout the island of Ireland.

The first thing we must do is consider the many issues that Senators have raised. Financial issues were raised but that is not the only area we must consider. We must consider the completion of the Single Market. The digital Single Market is an area that we can lead on. Any barrier to the development of trade or jobs needs to be challenged, and we need to make sure that we are at the forefront of that. We also need to consider security and defence. Migration does not necessarily have the same impact as other issues but we must have a voice when it comes to that. In terms of security and defence, Ireland is a neutral country but we must decide where we stand when it comes to terrorism, cybersecurity threats, etc. Again, these are questions that we need to put to the citizens of this country. We must ensure that our citizens have a voice at the table when decisions are being made.

A civil dialogue is also an opportunity for us to reiterate the positive things that have happened in the past 45 years and how, as a country, we have benefited hugely from being members of the European Union. The European Union is not perfect, but at the same time, it has shown the way for peace in so many parts of the European Union, particularly in Ireland, and how we can build on that. Today's discussion is obviously a basis on which to move forward. I hope that all Senators, Deputies and our MEPs will take part in the wider debate when it kicks off in the next few weeks. I will check my list to see if I have missed anybody's comments.