I welcome the Minister to the joint committee and commend him on what was a very good outcome to the EU summit in December. As a country, we could not have been more satisfied that our fellow member states were willing to listen to our concerns about the Lisbon treaty and to offer us very [...]
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: Like others, I welcome the opportunity to discuss the appalling situation that pertains in Gaza at the moment, and to consider the motions put before us. It is appropriate that this committee is discussing the issue, because we had much debate recently about the Lisbon treaty and very strong arguments were [...]
I welcome the delegations and thank them for their presentations. The responses to the issues raised in the European Union Green Paper were interesting. There was a slight contradiction in the issues raised by the representatives of the farming organisations and those raised by Food and Drink Industry Ireland. I would like Mr. Barry to [...]
Mr Francis Jacobs, European Parliament Representation
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I thank Mr. Francis Jacobs for his presentation and apologise for my late arrival. I heard the recommendations made at the end and I might comment on some of those.
The complementary role of national and European parliaments is important and something that has not been facilitated or [...]
Ms Andrea Pappin, the European Movement
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the representatives of the European Movement. I flicked through the documentation they provided for us and I compliment them on it. It is accessible, colourful and interesting. It is exactly what we need to promote better public understanding of Europe.
In the earlier session this morning, [...]
Mr. Bill Cullen, Mr. George Hook, Professor Richard Aldous, Mr. Eamon Dunphy
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome all the speakers today and thank them for their very interesting and thought-provoking contributions. I wish to address one point to each of the speakers, starting with Mr. George Hook. I apologise for missing the beginning of his contribution. [...]
Mr. John Kierans, Editor, Irish Daily Mirror, Mr. Gerard Colleran, Editor, Irish Daily Star
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I will be very quick as I am sharing time with Senator Doherty. I welcome the delegation and I thank it for the frank presentations. The opinion from all media representatives who have appeared before the sub-committee is that, [...]
Mr. Alexander Stubb, Foreign Minister of Finland
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister, Mr. Stubb, to the committee. I heard him speaking at an OSCE meeting at the Parliamentary Assembly in Kazakhstan.
Mr. Alexander Stubb: Oh my God.
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: It is good to hear him speaking again. He is very welcome to Ireland.Ireland has always regarded [...]
Ms Ann Cahill, Irish Examiner, Mr Frank Cullen, National Newspapers of Ireland (NNI)
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I apologise for being periodically absent from the meeting for various reasons. My question is related to the last point Mr. Cullen made about the extent to which he believes the political establishment is not generating good quality information about [...]
Mr Willie O’Reilly, Chairman, Independent Broadcasters of Ireland, Mr Michael Good, RTÉ, Mr Cillian dePaor, RTÉ
Senator Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the delegations for their presentations.
During a referendum there is a requirement on, particularly public service, broadcasters to provide equal coverage to both sides, a principle we all support. It is important when an EU treaty [...]
