I wish to share my time with Senator Maloney.
Adjournment Matters. - Young People in the EU.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
We are often told by politicians that young people are our greatest resource and that we must do all we can to advance their development. One failure of the Maastricht Treaty, as eloquently outlined by the National Youth Council of Ireland and its umbrella group in Europe, the Youth Forum, has been the omission of a specific provision for young people.
I raise this matter in the run up to the successful review of the Maastricht Treaty, particularly given the role of the Government until December, to ask the Government to take a fresh look at the Intergovernmental Conference discussions to ensure that the new treaty will give a proper and meaningful role to young people. The National Youth Council has pointed out that the failure in the Maastricht Treaty was evident in Articles 126 and 127. Those articles included the headings "education", "vocational training" and "youth". While the commitments of the EU were specified towards education and vocational training, youth was simply left as a heading. The National Youth Council of Ireland and the Youth Forum wish to make it clear that this is not good enough. I ask the Government, particularly as it holds the EU Presidency to re-examine this matter so that young people will be given their proper place in the new treaty.
About 43 per cent of our population is under 25 years of age as are 60 million people in the EU. They have specific concerns that need to be addressed. We must include this in the new treaty and give it substance. We could thus afford young people a proper place in our community.
When the new European treaty is negotiated it will have to be ratified by the Irish people. We must sell Europe and the idea of European integration to young people. We are not setting a good standard by omitting them from the very Treaty we will ask them to support and ratify. I ask that this issue be included as part of the Intergovernmental Conference discussions so that, when we hand over the Presidency at the end of this year and move towards agreement on the Treaty, this important element of young people and their role in the European Union will be included and not forgotten as it was when the Maastricht Treaty was negotiated.
I welcome the moves by the National Youth Council of Ireland to have a specific amendment for a special position for youth inserted in the new Treaty. Ireland holds the EU Presidency and, if the amendment is to be inserted, it should be done during this period. There are 60 million people under 25 in Europe but in the new draft document printed there is no specific paragraph for young people. I commend the work done by the National Youth Council of Ireland, especially Eamonn Waters and Colm Keaveney.
This amendment will not cost much. All that is asked is for 30 to 40 words be included in the new Treaty to give a specific position to youth. They will be the new Europeans and we will be inviting them to vote for the Treaty.
I welcome the fact that the Tánaiste, who met with the National Youth Council of Ireland in 1995, has intimated to me he is prepared to meet with them after tonight's vote in the Dáil to set a specific time to give the situation full consideration.
I support the case outlined by Senator Hayes and ask that the case made by the National Youth Council of Ireland be taken on board and that the amendment be inserted in the Treaty.
I thank Senator Hayes and Senator Maloney for bringing this matter to the attention of the House and for the positive manner in which they have expressed their views and the reasonable views of the National Youth Council of Ireland.
The European Council meeting in Florence in June of this year requested that "a general outline for a draft revision of the Treaties" be submitted to the Dublin European Council in December. The European Council indicated that it expects its meeting in December will mark decisive progress in the negotiations so that the Intergovernmental Conference will be able to complete its work by mid-1997. Overall, work has been advancing well with a view to producing the outline draft Treaty which has been requested for the European Council in December.
The Intergovernmental Conference must not lose sight of the fact that, while institutional and other questions are a necessary part of the its agenda, the people's verdict on the outcome of the Intergovernmental Conference will be governed largely by the extent to which it addresses and is seen to address the direct concerns of citizens. Senator Hayes' motion on the rights of our young people concerns an issue which is undoubtedly of concern to citizens.
We have made it clear that the overriding objective for our Presidency as a whole, of which the Intergovernmental Conference is one important part, is to contribute to the advancement of Europe in a manner which corresponds to the aspirations of her peoples, is relevant to their everyday concerns and responsive to their needs. We have stressed time and time again the importance which we, both as President and as a member state, attach to addressing effectively at European level a number of specific issues of direct concern to citizens.
At a recent meeting of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Dublin, political agreement was reached on proposals to enhance co-operation between the member states in the fight against the sexual exploitation of children. The Irish Presidency is now working to ensure that those proposals are adopted without delay.
As far as the Intergovernmental Conference is concerned, it should be recalled that the conference has been convened specifically to consider amendments to the Treaty, which is in a sense the constitution of the European Union. Any progress in that context does not prevent but rather complements progress in the day-to-day functions and business of the Union, one example of which I have just described.
Under the general heading of bringing the Union closer to its citizens, the Irish Presidency has already submitted for discussion at the Intergovernmental Conference draft texts on employment, justice and home affairs, citizenship, fundamental rights, transparency and the environment. All these issues are of direct interest to citizens, including our younger citizens.
Under the broad heading of fundamental rights, the Irish Presidency has put forward at the Intergovernmental Conference a suggested approach concerning the possibility of strengthening the non-discrimination provisions in the Treaty. The Presidency's approach suggests the incorporation of non-discrimination provisions in the Treaty, including the possible establishment of a legal basis in the Treaty which would permit the European institutions to adopt appropriate legislative provisions in respect of discrimination. Discrimination on the grounds of age is one of the aspects covered in this regard in the Irish Presidency paper.
The strengthening of the Justice and Home Affairs provisions of the Treaty in order to assist in the fight against international crime is also being given priority at the Intergovernmental Conference. It is clear that a strengthening of the Treaty provisions in this area will contribute to making those provisions more effective and more responsive to the needs of all citizens, including our younger citizens. Ireland has raised the question of including among the specific matters to be dealt with at the level of the Union a reference to the protection of the external borders of member states from the illegal trafficking of people, an issue of obvious concern in the context of young people's welfare. In that context, the Presidency has raised the question of including an explicit reference to "trafficking in persons" as a separate matter of common interest among the member states.
All member states agree that the issue of employment is of major public concern. It is a particular concern of younger people. Already there are arrangements in place since the European Council at Essen for co-ordination and development of common strategies at Union level on the question of employment with a view to strengthening action at Union level. The question at issue in the Intergovernmental Conference is whether these arrangements could be improved and strengthened. At the present stage of the negotiations, it appears that there is fairly wide support for this. It is one element for which both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have pushed.
It is not possible to deal in more detail with all the various issues under consideration at the Intergovernmental Conference which impact on citizens. There can be no doubt, however, about the commitment of the Irish Presidency to ensuring the needs and rights of all citizens are given a high priority at the Intergovernmental Conference. The attitude of our partners to addressing the concerns of citizens has, I am glad to say, also been generally quite positive. However, it is very important to recall that, at the end of the day, all Treaty amendments must be approved unanimously by the member states at the Intergovernmental Conference. It is too early to predict definitively what the final outcome will be on any of the issues under consideration at the Intergovernmental Conference.
The Seanad adjourned at 8 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 24 October 1996.