Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Sula dtosaíonn an chéad chainteoir, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach as ucht a fhocal deasa níos luaithe. Is cúis áthais dom é a bheith leis na Seanadóirí inniu agus beirt bhall de Pharlaimint na hEorpa in éineacht linn, Mr. Colm Markey agus Ms Maria Walsh. Is aoibhinn liom iad a bheith anseo. Is tionscnamh tábhachtach dearfach don todhchaí é seo. Táim an-bhródúil as an tionscnamh seo. Sílim go bhfuil sé fiúntach.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his remarks. It is a great pleasure to have two MEPs with us. It is an important facet of Seanad reform that we have this strong link between the European Parliament and this Chamber. That is what was intended and it has to be the case, not least in the context of the Conference on the Future of Europe. Both Ms Walsh and Mr. Markey are prominent and active MEPs and their high-quality addresses have substantiated that.

The next stage of proceedings concerns contributions from spokespersons. I call the Deputy Leader and Chairman of the Brexit committee, Senator Chambers.