Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

We cannot allow Russia and China to continue to dictate the pace in the work we do as a sovereign country in the European Union.

I also thank my colleagues from the Government side who have raised very important issues. I thank Senator Casey and Senator O'Loughlin, who talked about their work on the Council of Europe which, of course, works very closely with the European Union.

Senator Paul Daly mentioned the Common Agricultural Policy, and I can say that as the multi-annual financial framework negotiations start - they are at their very early stages - he can rest assured that the issue of the CAP is something we are very cognisant of and is a priority for this country. We are not the only ones and there are many other countries that also want to be in that space. On Mercosur, this country is very much in favour of trade agreements but we have concerns about the agricultural impact and there is no question about that. I have had a number of in-person meetings with my French counterpart on Mercosur, and I thank the Senator for those comments.

Senator Ahearn also hit the nail on its head when he said that until we joined the European Union, there was a great dependence on the United Kingdom. That was the practical reality, whether it was interest rates, the currency or what we did day to day.

Contrary to what Senator McCarthy and others have said about this moving away from the Schuman Declaration, by our joining the European Union we have increased our national sovereignty. Senator McCarthy thought that the concept of our national sovereignty has gone away and needs to come back. Our national sovereignty has been massively increased by sitting at the European table, making those decisions and putting Ireland's best foot forward in working with European countries. We are sitting around the table with all of the other European leaders who remain within the Union.

Our neutrality is a Government policy, it is a tradition in this country and it has been in no way impacted by our membership of the European Union. Every single set of conclusions from the European Council, the treaties and the defence papers refer to the particular characteristics of certain member states, which now are Ireland, Austria, Cyprus and Malta. All of these reference that and acknowledge that we are a bit different. At the end of the day, it is up to each member state to conduct its own defence, and we must conduct our own defence, protect our independence and invest in our neutrality.

On the North of Ireland, it is of course regrettable that Northern Ireland is not a member of the European Union and I bitterly regret that. I welcome the comments from Senator Murphy about Northern Ireland's place, the work that was done throughout Brexit and that that has to continue. It continued this week in terms of my engagements with our UK counterparts in London. Senator Murphy raised the PEACEPLUS programme. That is continuing to invest in Northern Ireland and Border counties. It is funded by the Irish Government, the British Government and the European Union. It was a very important priority for us in the previous negotiations for the multi-annual financial framework.

Senator Murphy also mentioned the electronic travel authorisation which, of course, is a huge bugbear for us and we have engaged with it on numerous occasions. I do not want to go into the details of the meeting I had with the Minister, Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, in London this week but that issue was certainly raised. It and its consequences are certainly something the Government in the UK is aware of now. The previous British Government brought it in and I feel there was a lack of awareness at that time of the impact on tourism and on local movement. They are certainly aware of the impact this is having and we will continue to work with our British counterparts on this issue.

I again thank the Senators for the work they are doing in highlighting our European journey and in having a debate about it. This is the very important part of it. We should guard with our lives the European Union institutions - the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council - because they are so important. How we want them to be directed is a matter for the people and for democracy, and we vote. That is the important point to remember. We must separate the policies from the institutions. The European Union and the very fact of sitting around the table and working things out with other member states and MEPs from other countries has been of immeasurable benefit to all of us. It is incumbent on all of us and we are all responsible for electing the best people, whether it is into government in Ireland or into the European Parliament, to ensure the European institutions are representative of the views we want as a people. They have done that. The debate today is important in order that we have a robust debate on the policies, the institutions and the regulations and directives which are passed. Fundamentally, however, let us work night and day to protect those institutions we can vote for and in which we have free speech and free assembly, because many others do not.