Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 2005 > Committee on European Affairs > Report No. 09 - Europe Day in Dáil Éireann

Tithe an Oireachtais

An Comhchoiste um Ghnóthaí Eorpacha

An Dóú Tuarascáil Déag: Tuarascáil maidir le Lá na hEorpa i nDáil Éireann, 10 Bealtaine 2006

Iúil 2005

Houses of the Oireachtas

Joint Committee on European Affairs

Twelth Report

Report on Europe Day in Dáil Éireann, 10th May 2006

July 2006

Foreword

National parliaments and parliamentarians have a central role in bringing the European Union Institutions and their very valuable work closer to the peoples of Europe. Perhaps at least equally important is the role of bringing the concerns of their constituents to the attention of those Institutions.

This crucial role of national parliaments is increasingly being acknowledged and strengthened at EU level. ‘Europe Day’ provided a unique opportunity to give practical effect to this theme within Dáil Éireann.

During the European Union’s period of reflection on the EU Constitution, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs has given high priority in its work programme to raising national awareness of European issues and to reconnecting the people with the European Union and its institutions. The purpose of Europe Day was to promote discussion on European issues and to engage the Irish people in discussion and debate on European matters that impact on their daily lives.

A novel feature of the day was the direct participation by members of the public in the debate. A dedicated Oireachtas Europe Day website invited members of the public to pose questions or contribute their comments and views on EU-related matters that were of interest to them. More than 60 did so.

The high level of participation and interaction by members of the public in the debate underlined the fact that when people are asked to participate in a meaningful way in the debate on the future of Europe, they will take that opportunity. Many of the comments submitted by the public were raised during the debate in the Dáil on Europe Day and all the issues and views put forward are being considered by the Joint Committee in its ongoing debates. In this way issues of interest and relevance to the public are directly feeding into and informing debates in the Oireachtas on the future of Europe.

Public confidence and trust are vital for the continuance and effectiveness of the European Union. The Joint Committee is of the view that this initiative should be built on as a way to increase citizen’s awareness of and involvement in the EU.

The Joint Committee is grateful to the Ceann Comhairle, Dr. Rory O’Hanlon T.D., and the Government Chief Whip, Mr. Tom Kitt T.D. for facilitating Europe Day. The Joint Committee would also like to thank Deputy Ruairí Quinn, Rapporteur for Europe Day.

John Deasy T.D.

Chairman

Joint Committee on European Affairs

12^th July 2006

INDEX

Part I: Joint Committee on European Affairs

Twelfth Report:

Report on

Europe Day in Dáil Éireann, 10^th May 2006

Part II: Rapporteur’s Report to

the Joint Committee on European Affairs

On

Europe Day in Dáil Eireann, 10^th May 2006

By Deputy Ruairí Quinn

A Historic Day

A landmark in Irish parliamentary history was achieved on May 10, 2006 when Europe Day was celebrated in the Dáil Chamber by members of both Houses of the Oireachtas meeting in joint session.

Europe Day commemorates the first key initiative to create what we now know as the European Union when, on May 9^th 1950, French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman proposed an institutional structure to help heal the divisions between European countries which had recently been at war with one another.

For the first time in the history of Dáil Eireann, a European Commissioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, who is responsible for the important Agriculture and Rural Development portfolio, addressed members of both Houses and took questions from the floor of the Dáil Chamber.

This was not only a “first” for the Dáil; it was also the first time in the history of the EU that the national parliament of a member state devoted a day-long session to an EU debate with the participation of a Commissioner speaking and taking questions from the floor of the House.

Yet another innovation marked the day: the Oireachtas Joint Committee for European Affairs, which, inter alia, monitors the work of the EU institutions and the legislation emanating from them on behalf of the Oireachtas, set up a dedicated website which invited members of the public to submit comments and questions on EU issues for discussion during the special Dáil session.

More than 60 questions or comments were received and many of these were raised in the course of the day-long debate. The Joint Committee has arranged for written replies to each question to be prepared by relevant Government Departments and sent to the individuals who submitted them.

The Debate

The idea of arranging a joint session of the Dáil and Seanad to mark Europe Day came from the Joint Committee on European Affairs which, as Ceann Comhairle Dr. Rory O’Hanlon T.D. said in his opening address, has taken a lead role in advancing a greater understanding and appreciation of the relationship between Ireland and the EU Institutions.

The Ceann Comhairle who, with the enthusiastic support of the party Whips, pursued the idea of a special session, noted in his introduction to the debate that “people are finding it increasingly challenging to relate to decision-making at the European level. The opportunity, therefore, for the public to directly forward their views and questions on the topics being discussed today is a welcome initiative.”

He added: “National parliaments have a particular role to play in helping ensure that the European project is appreciated by a much wider audience.”

All European affairs committees in the national parliaments in the EU, which are in constant contact with one another through an umbrella body called COSAC, agreed two years ago to mark Europe Day in their own fashion. But none apart from the Oireachtas has so far organised a full parliamentary session.

In his remarks, John Deasy T.D., the Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, whose membership is drawn from both the Dáil and Seanad, expressed the hope that Ireland’s full parliamentary debate would lead to other EU parliaments looking to the initiative of his Committee and the Oireachtas as an example of how to raise national awareness of European issues.

Deputy Deasy recalled that, following the rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty in referenda in France and the Netherlands the European Council, where EU Heads of Government/State meet, had agreed in June 2005 on a “period of reflection” which would enable a broad debate on the Future of Europe to take place in all member states, involving citizens, civil society, social partners, national parliaments and political parties.

Noting that there was a need to underline that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish European from national/domestic affairs, he pointed out that the European Affairs Committee concentrated its focus on matters of practical relevance to citizens, such as the migration of EU nationals and the challenges facing the agriculture sector.

Deputy Deasy pointed out that, for too long, the national parliaments of the member states have been the “missing link” in the EU’s institutional architecture. He declared: “Today is an acknowledgement that this national parliament has a key role to play.”

In welcoming Commissioner Fischer Boel, who was invited as keynote speaker for a debate on EU agriculture policy, the Ceann Comhairle said that her presence, as well as that of the Taoiseach, members of the Government and of both Houses was “indicative of our desire to bring the working of the EU closer to the people of Ireland.”

In her address, the Commissioner paid tribute to the Celtic Tiger and also to the manner in which Ireland had adapted to changes in the Common Agricultural Policy. She added: “I’m sure that the determination, sense of enterprise and imagination which fuelled Ireland’s return to economic health will also serve you well in agriculture.”

Minister for Agriculture and Food, Mary Coughlan T.D., pointed out that, as a small open economy, Ireland must change in order to prosper, and it had done so in the recent past. Noting that the country was now the EU’s fourth largest exporter of agricultural produce and that the sector accounted for 8 per cent of GDP, 7.1 per cent of exports and employed 9.5 per cent of the total workforce, she said: “Our membership of the EU has been a key factor in the transformation of our economy.”

Questions from the floor to the Commissioner covered a broad range of issues, including food security; challenges post-2013 when the current CAP arrangements will end; the fall in the number of farmers on the land; and the need to simplify regulations and procedures for farmers.

The joint session, which lasted for eight hours, also had discussions on: development issues following an opening statement by Minister Conor Lenihan T.D.; on migration (introduced by the Vice-Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Affairs, Deputy Barry Andrews); as well as the operation of the European Union (Scrutiny) Act 2002, under which the Joint Committee for European Affairs examines EU legislative proposals (introduced by Deputy Bernard Allen, Chairman of the Committee’s sub-committee on European Scrutiny). During the session European Affairs Minister Noel Treacy T.D. introduced the Second Stage of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2006 to provide for the accession of Bulgaria and Romania to the EU. This was passed by both Houses subsequently.

Having your say

In preparation for Europe Day, a dedicated website was opened to the public inviting questions and comments on EU issues. It was advertised during the week prior to the event by RTE radio and resulted in 750 “hits” and more than 60 questions or observations.

Among the questions posed were:

-what are the options for farming in Ireland?

-why are GM crops being forced on the public?

-why has the EU decided that the Irish people are not allowed to have their own sugar?

-what plans are being considered by the Commissioner to revitalise rural areas?

-freedom of movement of people and goods, as well as the common currency, have been great achievements for the consumer, but when will the freedom of services be realised?

-why have the Irish authorities failed to implement the Environmental Impact Directive of 1985?

-what is the position of the European Affairs Committee on the enlargement of the EU in the Balkans/South-eastern Europe?

-why can citizens of Ireland not vote on letting new countries join the EU?

-why do I have to pay VRT on a second-hand camper van?

-what efforts does the Government intend to make to stir and harness the interest of young people in European affairs?

-I am concerned about the treatment of non-EU migrants in Ireland. Can all Dáil members agree that we have a duty to treat all migrants equally?

Many of these questions were dealt with in the course of the debates during Europe Day. In addition, arrangements have been made for all questioners to receive a written response. These replies are also published on the Oireachtas website.

The next steps

All speakers in the various debates, as well as media commentators, agreed that Europe Day in the Dáil was a historic occasion. Since then, the Ceann Comhairle and the Committee on European Affairs have been active in following up on this initiative.

On June 30, the Ceann Comhairle attended The Conference of Speakers of European Union Parliaments in Copenhagen, where he briefed, among others, his counterparts in the other 24 member states on Ireland’s Europe Day. The meeting was attended by European Commission Vice-President Margot Wallstrom, who is specifically charged with promoting greater openness and transparency of EU decision-making and greater participation of national parliaments in the process.

Dr. O’Hanlon told the conference that one of the main reasons why Dáil Eireann so readily embraced the idea of Europe Day was because the agenda for the sitting was set by the Members themselves; the topics chosen had a real political feel to them. He also mentioned the input of citizens to the debate and its importance for future parliamentary discussions of EU issues.

The Ceann Comhairle proposed that twice a year, starting in 2007, each national parliament should devote at least one day, to a debate on EU issues, including the Commission’s annual strategy paper and its legislative and work programme. This received broad support among his fellow-Speakers.

At the same meeting, Vice-President Wallstrom stressed the need for increased cooperation between the European Commission and national parliaments to enable the Commission to attune its policy proposals more closely with diverse circumstances in each member state. She also assured the Speakers that the Commission was not opposed to changing a proposal in the light of comments from national parliaments.

Earlier in the month, on June 16, the EU Heads of Government/State meeting in the European Council gave full support to the Commission’s commitment to make all new proposals and consultation papers directly available to national parliaments. It is anticipated that the modalities of this arrangement will be agreed shortly.

European Affairs Committee Chairman John Deasy welcomed these developments, declaring: “ Europe Day was not a one-off event but the beginning of a process to further democratise the formulation of EU policies. Strengthening the role of national parliaments in this process is clearly gathering momentum and we intend to work actively to build on that.”