Draft minutes of the meetings of 29 April, 1 May and 9 May have been circulated. Are they agreed?
Business of Joint Committee.
I propose they be adopted.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
Correspondence received since the last meeting has been circulated. Item 124 lists the proposed measures considered and the decisions adopted by the European scrutiny committee at its meeting on 29 April and which have been forwarded to the joint committee for our information. It is proposed to note it. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Item 125 is a letter from Commissioner Wallström, enclosing the Commissioner's response to the committee's submission to the European Commission on its White Paper on a strategy for Europe on nutrition, overweight and obesity and related health issues. In January 2008, the Commission adopted a proposal for regulation on the provision of food information to consumers. The Commission states that the proposal reflects in general the views put forward by the committee. It is proposed to note it. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Item 126 is an e-mail from Mr. Brendan Butler, IBEC, advising of the launch of the Business Alliance for Europe and forwarding a copy of a related article in The Irish Times on the Lisbon reform treaty. It is proposed to note it. Is that agreed? Agreed.
Item 127 is an e-mail from Érin go Bragh in relation to information——
What organisation is that?
It must be a new group.
It has an address in Cork, but seems to be an ad hoc group.
It reads: "The questions indicate that the referendum is a red herring and belie the true reason this newest wave of treason will attempt to submit the Irish to foreign rule by stealth and again put us in the grip of the Union Jack". This is the kind of stuff we are getting.
Wrap the green flag around me, boys.
That is only part of it. There is euthanasia, abortion and other nasty things.
This was one of the things that came to my attention over the weekend.
Where is Érin go Bragh evident?
It depends on the amount of money it has to spend and how it spends it. It is part and parcel of the multiple pieces of information that are drip-fed into the system.
Does it have an address?
I cannot understand why people run with this mischievous information. They run around with it as if it was the gospel and they do not seem to check it. I have concerns, as I am sure all members have, as to why this should be so easy to digest and regurgitate.
I was told on Sunday morning that the Romans tried it, Napoleon tried it and Hitler tried it, and that this was the next attempt.
Tried what?
Conquering Europe. This is the conquering of Ireland and Europe, and all that kind of stuff. I thought the Romans got as far as our next-door neighbours. They did not come this far.
They got to Hadrian's Wall.
Correct, there was a bit of brick work there. No. 128 is a letter to the Chairman from Mr. Joe Noonan, guest speaker. Mr. Noonan states he appreciated the opportunity to speak at the meeting and looks forward to receiving a copy of the committee's report in due course. That is noted.
No. 129 is a letter from Olive Towey of Concern forwarding a copy of the Concern submission to the National Forum on Europe on the Lisbon treaty. It has a website on Europe and external policy which provides information on the implications of the treaty for EU development co-operation. It is proposed to note it.
No. 130 is correspondence from the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign with regard to the EU and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is proposed to note it. We must get back to those issues as soon as we dispense with this other important issue.
No. 131 is a request from the last meeting for an information paper on the enhanced role for national parliaments under the Lisbon treaty. It has been circulated to members. It is proposed to note it.
No. 132 is a letter from the Interparliamentary Union forwarding information received from the French Parliament. The interparliamentary meeting is being hosted by the Parliament during the French Presidency of the European Union. It is proposed to forward it to all other joint committees for information. It is proposed to note it. Agreed.
No. 133 is an e-mail from the Parliament of Lithuania advising that the Parliament ratified the Lisbon treaty on 8 May and enclosing a copy of the resolution passed by the Parliament on 6 May in recognition of the events in Kosovo. It is proposed to note it. That is a positive view and we should congratulate it and remind all the people who say we should emulate the Dutch and the French. What about the other people who are also positive?
Under any other business, we will deal with committee travel. With regard to the proposed attendance at the joint parliamentary meeting on the western Balkans in Brussels on 26 and 27 May, we need to consider this and have an attendance there, if possible. The draft programme for the joint parliamentary meeting on the western Balkans, including the estimated cost, has been circulated. May I have formal approval for three members to attend? Agreed. The cost is €4,100.
Next is the proposed attendance at the 54th Session of the Assembly of the WEU in Paris from 3 to 5 June 2008. The draft programme, including the estimated cost, has been circulated. May I have formal approval for three members to attend this session at an estimated cost of €5,600? Agreed. A draft programme for a COSAC chairpersons meeting under the French Presidency, including the estimated cost, has been circulated. May I have formal approval for the Chairman to attend at an estimated cost of €1,200? Agreed.
In accordance with the rules of committee travel, the committee is required to consider certain matters. Is it agreed that these meetings are directly and explicitly linked to an area of work in which the committee has decided to become involved? Agreed. Is it agreed that economy class flights will be used in order that the committee's travel budget is used to maximum efficiency? Agreed.
On this occasion.
On all occasions.
We have agreed that.
It is ridiculous, unless one is going on a long-haul flight.
There are two views on that. Over four hours, there is a question mark.
It makes no difference. One would be as well off in any seat. If one is going on a long-haul flight for 24 or 28 hours——
In any event, there are guidelines from the travel office on this subject.
Go with Ryanair and one will have comfort.
Are there any other specific issues? No. Our next meeting will take place on Thursday next, 15 May, in Limerick. We would like as many people as possible to attend. Deputy O'Rourke asked about the advertising which took place before the meeting in Athlone which was through Midlands Radio, the Westmeath Independent, a leaflet drop and the Athlone freesheet which was distributed on the Thursday.
There was no leaflet drop, no advertising in the Westmeath Independent and nothing on Midlands Radio.
That is something we will follow up.
Who is in charge? Is it some office here in the Oireachtas?
It is the secretariat. We do it ourselves directly.
I am sorry to tell the Chairman it did not happen.
We are planning for Limerick and we will make sure the meeting gets local radio coverage, which is the most important thing.
As far as I know, there are two local radio stations in Limerick.
If this is our last——
I am coming to that. It may not be the last. There was an earlier request to meet in Waterford and somebody else suggested we should meet in Sligo as well because the Sligo-Donegal area looks like one——
A Member
Should we——-
Yes, we probably should. We must make the decision today. We must then get an order of the House for two other meetings. There is a time constraint. We need to have the report finalised by about 28 May and have a press conference to release it. It will hopefully cause some consternation in the sense that it will come with recommendations. We are a serious committee of the Oireachtas so we will have to produce findings. Perhaps we might get provisional approval from the Houses of the Oireachtas for two extra meetings. If we can fit them in, we will go ahead with them. If we cannot, nothing is lost. Is that agreed? Agreed.
As long as the two are not in the one week.
They might be on a Thursday and Tuesday or a Thursday and Friday. We might have to do it that way. However, we will not necessarily have all of the same people at the meetings. If we have to do it that way, let us do it that way. I believe the committee has an obligation, which is recognised by all members given the participation they have had, and we have fulfilled that obligation. We will not be short at the end. We will finish the same way we started. Either way, we will meet on 15 May.
What time on 15 May?
At 8 p.m. in the Millennium Theatre at the Limerick Institute of Technology. It is a nice place. We should generate as much information as possible and hopefully we will get a good crowd. We had a very good crowd in Cork and I see no reason we cannot repeat that. We made specific requests to both Mr. Ganley and Mr. McEvaddy to attend. They will be more than welcome and we look forward to engaging with them.
The joint committee went into private session at 3.29 p.m. and adjourned at 3.40 p.m. until 8 p.m. on Thursday, 15 May 2008.