4 Feabh 2014, 18:21
The Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Union Affairs was this afternoon told that, while Ireland’s reputation in Brussels has been broadly restored, how to optimise this newfound leverage to further Ireland’s interests remained a challenge.
4 February 2014
RTÉ's Europe Editor Tony Connelly, former MEP and TD Proinsias De Rossa and NUI Maynooth's Dr John O'Brennan were before the Committee considering a review of Irish Foreign Policy, which sets out to ensure Ireland gains maximum benefit from the resources it commits to international engagement in a rapidly-changing world.
As part of its contribution to this Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade-led process, the EU Affairs Committee is examining the promotion of Ireland's interests within the European Union and what policy steps are necessary to ensure that Europe's voice is stronger at a global level.
Chairman of the Committee Dominic Hannigan TD says: “This afternoon, our Committee enjoyed a valuable exchange of views with three distinct and authoritative voices on how Ireland’s interests can be best pursued within the EU system.
“RTÉ’s Tony Connelly said that, following a successful EU Presidency and a smooth bailout exit in 2013, Ireland’s stock in Brussels, Strasbourg and across EU capitals had risen. However, it remained an open question as to how the Irish Government could successfully utilise this goodwill in, for instance, securing retrospective bank recapitalisation. Mr Connelly also spoke on the upcoming security challenges that instability in Africa could pose to the European Union. We head that moves to increase the EU’s capacity to deal with trouble spots areas of the Sahel region could pose significant questions for Ireland’s longstanding policy of military neutrality.
“Former Minister, TD and MEP, Prionsias De Rossa said that Ireland’s current interests would be best served in supporting the full implementation of all aspects of the Lisbon Treaty. Pointing to the gulf that exists between European institutions and the wider public, he argued for that space for public engagement on European issues was now required, along the lines of the disbanded National Forum on Europe. Reflecting on how Oireachtas Committees have maturely dealt with complex issues recently, he advocated a role for the EU Affairs Committee in questioning Ireland’s future Commissioner before formal ratification.
“NUI Maynooth academic John O’Brennan asserted that, relative to other national parliaments, the Houses of the Oireachtas punched below its weight in scrutiny of European legislation. We were told that the Executive held most of the prerogatives when it came to EU legislation and that greater resources for parliament in effectively tracking EU legislation were required. We also take on board his concern that Ireland may be underrepresented in the workforce of the key European institutions into the future. The Committee is acutely aware of the need to incentivise graduates to take up careers in Brussels and Strasbourg, to ensure that Irish nationals are spread across key positions in the European institutions.”
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Committee Membership
Deputies: Eric Byrne, Seán Crowe, Timmy Dooley, Bernard J. Durkan, John Halligan, Dominic Hannigan (Chair), Seán Kyne, Dara Murphy (Vice-Chair) and Joe O’Reilly
Senators: Colm Burke, John Kelly, Terry Leyden, Catherine Noone and Kathryn Reilly