Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 June 2023
158. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent if any to which efforts are ongoing within the European Union to address the issue of Euro-scepticism; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29037/23]
View answerThe European Parliament Spring 2023 Eurobarometer survey shows EU citizens’ strong support for democracy and a high awareness of the upcoming European Parliament elections. One year ahead of the next European elections, public interest in these elections has measurably increased. A clear majority of citizens (56%) are interested in the next European elections, 6 points higher compared to 2018, one year before the last European elections. In Ireland, this figure is at 66%. In response to the question as to how the public felt that democracy works in the EU, 54% responded as being satisfied across the EU, the corresponding figure in Ireland was 82%.
While EU engagement among Irish citizens remains favourable, we cannot take this for granted or be complacent. For that reason, the Programme for Government underlines the Government’s commitment to communicating and promoting the EU’s work at all levels of society and to marking 50 years of Ireland’s membership of the EU in that regard.
I was very pleased to launch an EU50 programme of events on 22 January 2022 at the National Archives on the anniversary of Ireland’s signing of the Treaty of Accession in 1972. The EU50 programme, which ran until May this year, encouraged reflection and celebration of 50 years of membership across Irish society, in particular among our young people. It included, amongst other initiatives, a MYEU50 primary, secondary and third level competition; an EU50 Iveagh House lecture series; two nationwide Europe Day/Week schools outreach programmes in 2022 and 2023 involving Government Ministers and EU Ambassadors; a Government of Ireland EU50 Ireland in the Single Market Conference; a doubling in funding for the annual Communicating Europe Initiative scheme towards EU50 initiatives; a new funding stream for local authorities to mark EU50 during May 2023; two travelling EU50 exhibitions: one, Into Europe, in partnership with the Royal Irish Academy and on display in libraries and other venues across Ireland and in over 30 countries worldwide, and the second, Ireland and the Birth of Europe, in partnership with University College Cork for presentation by our Embassies across Europe. The programme also saw visits by both the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola to Ireland with each addressing special joint sittings of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The programme concluded last month with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the National Concert Hall. It also complemented performances of Ode to Joy as the European Anthem by primary and secondary schools across the country during Europe day/week 9th May as part of a project between my Department, the Department of Education and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. As we look towards Ireland’s next Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026, my Department will seek to build on the EU50 programme and to continue further enhance our communication of the European Union to citizens across Ireland.
This will complement the wider efforts of the European Union to engage with citizens and promote the values of our Union. The Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) which concluded in May 2022 was a major innovation in terms of EU participatory democracy, drawing on the views of EU citizens across all 27 states through a series of Plenaries and Citizen Panel events held during 2021 and 2022, including in Ireland.
One of the major messages which emerged from the Conference was the strong desire of ordinary citizens to be better informed and engaged about the EU and its decision-making process. Many of the proposals and recommendations emanating from the Conference are now being followed up, including by the European Commission which has incorporated a large number of them into its legislative programme for the current year.
