 Thank you very much indeed and thank you indeed, Rory, for the invitation into the institute to speak to you this morning and I don't know whether you're a nostalgic Rory. Are you getting some sort of longing pangs to be employed in election campaigns because you in fairness you competed successfully in many of them. But I thank you for your contribution and in particular the opportunity to speak to you and also go to renew acquaintances Michael Collins of course with whom I worked in different capacities down through the years. Europe has been a foundation for progress on this island throughout the last 50 years but it cannot be taken for granted and over the last decade it has been faced with crisis after crisis which have threatened the core ideas which have meant so much for Ireland and Europe as a whole. These threats remain and as we look forward there is an urgent challenge facing us. After Brexit, after the rise of anti-democratic populists, after the euro crisis, after attacks from outside countries and after a near collapse of public legitimacy will Ireland get off to sidelines and play our part in renewing Europe. We'll be step up and start working for Europe which can do more to serve its people, will help regions and communities in trouble, will protect democracy and will secure a prosperity for all which also tackles the climate emergency. Brexit has been a dominant issue for our politics for three and a half years. This has been correct because the scale of the threat has been historic but as we face into the completion of the formal exit of Britain from the Union tomorrow we need to more than react to Brexit. We must deal with Brexit but we must not let it define us or define Europe. We must be resolute in protecting our interests in the next negotiations but we also have to move far more urgently on other issues. The next five years marks a new defining moment for Ireland. At home we face historic challenges in rebuilding public faith that we can achieve progress in our health services, in making housing affordable and attacking other pressures hitting communities and families. These are the challenges at the heart of our election campaign and they are the issues which will decide its outcome. But to meet these challenges we need an invigorated Europe which is stronger and more effective. A Europe which gets out of the defensive posture it has been in and has the confidence to show how now as much as ever before it is the only way forward to peace, progress and security for Ireland and the other democracies of Europe. So what I want to talk to you about today are the different parts we need to come together to make sure that Ireland and Europe succeed and prosper in the years after Brexit. I will first outline the elements of Irish domestic policy which I and my party want to implement to protect and grow our country. I will then address the issue of Northern Ireland's place as a special economic zone with a unique place in the European market and our shared future. Arising from this I want to talk about how we can build a constructive relationship with the United Kingdom and finally the role which Ireland should play in the work of renewing the European Union. Before I do this I would like to start by talking about Finafoil's core principle on Europe and on politics in general. We have a very clear and distinct position which set the framework for our absolute commitment to Ireland being an active and positive member of both the European Union and the wider international community. We are a constitutional Republican party proud of the role of our founders in securing Irish sovereignty and understanding that to protect that sovereignty strong rules based international organizations are absolutely essential. Our republicanism is an internationalist one inspired by the revolutions in both America and France and committed to the idea of a national identity which must be outward looking and open to change. The constitution of 1937 which our leaders wrote was the first in the world adopted by a genuinely free referendum. It has flaws but it also has great strengths and set in the context of its time it is a remarkable document. Written at the darkest moment in modern history it defined the nation inclusively gave protection to groups being persecuted elsewhere and committed Ireland to respect international law. Even more remarkably it is the only example of a former a formerly revolutionary group of that time which won an election and reduced its own powers through strengthening the judiciary guaranteeing freedoms and allowing free referendums. This is a spirit built upon by the last great leader of our party and our country from the revolutionary struggle Sean Lamasse and he's guiding principles for the development of our country remain an inspiration for us. Having fought in the GPO during 1916 as a teenager he eventually became Taoiseach in 1959. In a few short years he created much of the pillars upon which we have built Ireland's positive progress since then. Lamasse demanded that social and economic issues be seen as two sides of the same coin. You could not have real progress in one without the other. He believed that education was the essential ingredient in national prosperity so his government began a dramatic expansion of educational opportunity at every level. He insisted that enterprise must be valued and enabled beginning Ireland's efforts to become a long-term base for world-leading companies. He was profoundly committed to cooperation on this island to overcome historic divisions and reached across the border to show friendship to our fellow Irish women and men of different traditions. And of course Lamasse led us with determination and foresight into understanding that participation in a deep and evolving European community of nations and open trade with others offered Ireland the historic chance to prosper and have influence among the nations of the world. In every role I have held in my political life this blueprint for Ireland has inspired me and helped to guide me in finding ways through the challenges of today. And that is why I have so often in recent years come here to address at length and in detail the need for Ireland in Europe to renew the spirit which drove that brilliant and visionary generation which created and expanded what is today the European Union. Starting in 2012 I have given a series of addresses here which have set out the party's belief in a more active secure and effective European Union. Brexit is not an issue we took up after the referendum. In fact in May 2013 a full three years before the narrow majority for Brexit I talked here about how the Union should handle Britain's threat to leave and the need to protect the Union's core rules and values. In March 2015 I called for Ireland in Europe to begin preparations for at least a possibility of Brexit. In our 2016 election platform Fianna Fáil was the only party to address Brexit and since then we have been far ahead of others in the depth and seriousness with which we have addressed all issues concerning Brexit. I think that this is necessary to say because there have been unfortunate attempts in recent weeks to politicise Brexit. To say that Ireland can't have a new government because only current office holders have the skills and knowledge to handle Brexit. What is particularly disappointing about this is that it is dismissive of the fact that Ireland should be proud of how political unity has reinforced our national strength at a time of real risk. Indeed it ignores the reality that we had a functioning government and parliament join the threat of a crash out Brexit solely because Fianna Fáil acted. Against this background by us of positive engagement and leadership on the threat of Brexit during the past seven years the idea that Ireland cannot change its government because of Brexit is cynical and desperate in equal measure. The national unity which we helped construct on Brexit will continue. As you can all see the nature of our next government is dominating a lot of political coverage. I think we would actually be better served by having a deeper debate about the next government's programme but it is a perfectly reasonable thing for the public to ask the party they might vote for to outline who they might be willing to become partners with in a government. An absolute and fundamental position from my party concerning the next government is that it must believe in working with Europe. It must be Euro positive and it must seek the strengthening and renewal of the European Union. The Sinn Féin party has been loudly demanding that it must be allowed into government no matter who leads the government. I've discussed at length the many reasons why that party is not acceptable to us and it is a basic tenet of democracy that each party has a right to determine how it uses its own mandate. On top of Sinn Féin's destructive agenda and policy of always putting its own interests ahead of the public interest there is the fact that it is Ireland's most consistent and obsessively anti-European Union party. It campaigned against us joining the European Union and it has opposed every development of the Union. 100 times out of 100 it attacks the European Union when the opportunity arises and it is allied with hardline anti-European Union parties. It never has anything good to say about the European Union and its Euro skepticism is hardwired into the party. This can go to ridiculous lengths such as it spokes people standing up in the doile and blaming the European Union for Russia's decision to invade and partition Ukraine. Sinn Féin and government would mark a decisive move away from a constructive, active and effective policy of being positive to the European Union. This would do enormous damage and undermine one of the basic foundations for Ireland's economy. Ireland has achieved a lot through its united position and the solidarity of its partners in the Union but there are many Brexit related challenges which are solely within our own hands and these are directly linked to the wider domestic challenges we face as a society. One of the most consistently observed developments in modern European politics is that the old left right divide has lost its ability to define party systems. The best performing countries those which best serve their people have a vibrant debate between parties in the centre which reject the cynical populism of the extremes and within this debate people must have the ability to change their government without being forced to accept the extremes. We want to form a government which is driven by an urgency to tackle social problems and to ensure that our economy is both strong and works in the interests of all sections of our society. Brexit is only at half time in terms of negotiations but it has hardly begun in terms of domestic preparations. There are many ads about being Brexit ready but the reality is that Ireland was absolutely not Brexit ready last year and needs to rapidly increase activity if we are to be ready by the time the withdrawal agreement expires later this year. The challenge is both urgent and long term and it goes to the heart of how our economy will perform in the years ahead. In terms of immediate actions a majority of companies have still not completed basic registrations required to trade with the United Kingdom after it leaves the single market and customs union. Few have developed the expertise required to handle more complex regulations and controls and the impact of a weakened sterling has already hit investment. So we have to step up efforts to be ready no matter what happens in the trade negotiations. As has been said repeatedly the closest arrangement possible under the United Kingdom's minimum conditions for the deal will require a significant increase in compliance and administration costs. 2020 has to see a step change from the work in recent years to prepare businesses for these costs. This is particularly urgent for indigenous businesses which are both more dependent on the United Kingdom market and less experienced in trading outside of the European Union. But there are equally serious challenges which are still urgent even if their impact will be long term. The hard Brexit which is envisaged in the withdrawal agreement will permanently cut Ireland's growth prospects and unless the United Kingdom government develops some credible and secure long term connection to the European Union which is based on enforceable rules, exchange rate, volatility will continue to threaten our competitiveness. We have to diversify even more our markets and our products. We have to be less reliant on the United Kingdom market and we have to begin a major national effort to find new opportunities. The schemes designed to help companies have simply not worked to a sufficient degree. They have been delayed by months and years and have had no significant impact so far. There is an unanswerable case to conduct a rapid review of their operation and to ensure a much higher uptake this year. But beyond these direct aids for adjustment there is the need to redouble our commitment to people and ideas, to education and research as Ireland's key to the development. So we have to immediately address a funding crisis which threatens quality in our higher education system to invest more in helping disadvantaged communities so that everyone's skills and ideas are harnessed and to return Ireland to a place leading development in advanced research. And that's why we intend immediately establishing a new ministry, the Department of Higher Education and Research, to kickstart the next post-Brexit phase of Ireland's drive to be a world leader in innovation. And of course we have to redouble Ireland's commitment to international trade as a driver of economic development. We cannot indulge the knee-jerk and ideological anti-trade politics of some. Expanded trade is the enabler of economic development and social opportunity. Ireland needs a strong international legal framework for trade and we have to support ambitious new agreements which are consistent with our other obligations particularly our social and environmental goals. So Ireland post-Brexit has a lot to do to adjust to whatever happens after December. We want a government which engages with urgency not just with the negotiations element of the process but also with the need to support businesses and communities hit by Brexit and to invest in people and ideas as the only sound route forward for economic security. My party is passionately committed to building a shared future for all who live on this island. We are the party which negotiated a good Friday agreement and overcame enormous obstacles to deliver its implementation. The genius of the agreement lies in how it allows a framework where we no longer have to define all our relations solely by constitutional objectives. We can respect each other's differences and work together to minimize them. In relation to the issue of unity the very last people who should be listened to are those who use it as an issue for party politics and ignore the fundamental challenge of building a unity between people and communities. When the point is reached that we can have a referendum in a constructive atmosphere with all issues about what might happen dealt with openly and conclusively then no party will be more energetic in campaigning for earth and phenophile but that point will only be pushed off further into the future if we continue seeing the essentially sectarian and partisan approach to this issue promoted by one party. We have lost a lot of time in recent years time which should have been spent on building bridges was thrown away on senseless inter-party disputes and this has delayed the process of deeper understanding without which nothing positive can be achieved. When the conditions are right when sectarian tensions have been reduced when we're able to do more than just offer a swapping of roles when we don't just talk about reconciliation but practice it that is when the time will be right for a unity referendum. The clarity of the fact that Northern Ireland's residents retain their right to European Union citizenship is very welcome and it's something which we put on the agenda before the European Union's negotiating mandate was agreed. I would like to acknowledge the fact that then Taoiseach and the Kenny was willing to adopt our point and was also genuinely inclusive and open in all matters relating to Brexit. The centrality of the negotiating mandate adopted while he was Taoiseach has been too easily written out of the official history of Brexit. Unfortunately a complacency was allowed to develop in Northern Ireland in recent years and a big party monopoly narrowed the space for agreement ultimately setting off a cycle of dispute and suspension from which we can only hope we have actually emerged. It was in this context that the England driven Brexit vote was so disastrous. Sheared European Union membership is in the DNA of the peace settlement and we've not yet settled out how this will be handled in the future. As the High Court in Belfast has stated it assumes membership and we now have a situation where the United Kingdom will be outside the European Union but a formal international treaty and the domestic law of both Ireland and United Kingdom requires consideration for European Union law and policy in the work of bodies established by the Good Friday Agreement. The Special Economic Zone status which Northern Ireland will have is a good start and we should not underestimate the complexity of this being made operational. We are ready to work closely and urgently with businesses, the European Union, the Northern Executive and the British Government to make sure we and they are ready late this year for whatever is required. As I have said in speeches going back six years we believe that the fundamental principles of the European Union must be protected and we understand how difficult this makes shaping arrangements on this island and with our neighbour. If we are in government we will push at the European Council for the maximum urgency and immediate work on defining the range of options open to Ireland and how to handle trade with and through the United Kingdom post December. As I have said here many times over the last six years the ending of the close and permanent interactions between Irish and British ministers and officials in the context of the European Union is a major concern. There are no bilateral bodies or meetings currently in place which are capable of replacing these contexts so we have to construct them from the start. No party has been more negative than we have been concerning the behaviour of the Tory party towards Europe and the role of Europe in Ireland. This is a matter of record and one we have no problem justifying but we fully accept that we must seek to develop a constructive relationship with the government in London and our profound differences about Brexit must not get in the way of this. We had constructive and at times exceptionally close relations with previous Conservative administrations. John Major was and remains a deeply committed Unionist but the progress achieved through his partnership with my predecessor Albert Reynolds was historic. Brian Cowan worked closely with David Cameron on many issues including agreeing and planning for the visit of Queen Elizabeth which was such a dramatic demonstration of our new relations. Of course our working relationship with the labour governments delivered the core of the peace settlement. Bertie Hearn's working relationship with Tony Blair will always remain a high watermark for these islands. So we have no illusions about the policy of the Johnson administration but we are ready and eager to engage in the urgent work of putting in place a long-term structure to protect and enhance the relationship between our governments. A dramatically enhanced ministerial forum for bilateral relations is essential. Let us not stumble into disputes because we no longer meet every day in Brussels. Let's protect the great dynamic of close understanding and cooperation which defined every major piece of progress on these islands in the last half century. And we must also understand that the common travel area has to be maintained. It cannot just be left in place as it is. Many of the policies in areas such as health and social protection which enable our people and trade to move so seamlessly have been underpinned by shared European Union regulations. Let's make sure that we do not undermine it through ignoring the need to identify and address potential problems arising from the United Kingdom's departure. However let no one be in any doubt Ireland's future is European. Ireland must be a positive, active and always determined member of the European Union. But we do not want a passive, defensive European Union. The constant attacks of Euroscepticism over the years have left the Union in a defensive crouch. Too accepting of the attacks and too reluctant to get to grips with the problems and needs which have arisen. After the exit of Britain we need to renew our spirit and renew our agenda. We need to turn again to looking at what Europe can achieve rather than what it can get past the British veto. No topic has taken more of my party's time in the last nine years than talking about the need to strengthen and reform the European Union. The financial crisis was first allowed to become a eurozone crisis and then a crisis of democracy. When you look back it is almost frightening that Europe could have fallen apart without the words uttered by Mario Draghi whatever it takes. We did whatever it took to get through that crisis. Often in the face of bitter opposition by those who remained wedded to failed ideas. In fact if the policies in place today within the Union had been in place 10 years ago there's no doubt whatsoever that Ireland and Portugal would have avoided the need for a support program. When the shackles were thrown off, when the institutions of the Union accepted the need for change, stability and growth returned. But the very worst thing we could do would be to believe that Europe is now secure, that the threats have been overcome. The lack of urgency we have seen in recent years is only partly due to Brexit dominating the agenda. President Macron's visionary reform agenda should have sparked a dramatic new debatable Europe but too many countries including Ireland have refused to step up and engage. Finafoei believes that now is the time for Ireland to move on fundamental issues concerning the reform and strengthening of the European Union. Too much of what the Union does is focused on implementing the hard power of regulation and not enough is about enabling practical development. Its budget is wholly inadequate for the tasks that has been set. Europe needs to break the cycle of destructive negotiations over the budget and to create a larger resource. One percent of combined European Union income is simply too small to make a difference. It forces the zero-sum approach of countries trying to take away from one important policy, the common agricultural policy, in order to fund others. We believe a mechanism needs to be adopted to allow at very least the research, innovation and climate challenges which we've all agreed to be funded at a much higher level without undermining other programs. We also believe that the work has to continue to develop and strengthen the banking Union until it is complete. There have been small welcome steps forward in the last year and this has to continue. As the Union develops it also has to remember that it must allow each state to retain the reasonable opportunity to grow and prosper. The agenda of tax harmonization and limiting legitimate competition and competitiveness between countries is economically marginal to the Union as a whole but potentially dangerous in times of its basic legitimacy. A Union focused on enabling states rather than controlling them is a Union which can gain, retain and build a secure legitimacy in the years ahead. And of course we have to be absolutely resolute in defending the core European values of democracy, freedom of expression and the rule of law. Without these the European Union has no purpose. It is just an economic block indifferent to what happens to its citizens. There can be no stepping back from our values and in a world where others are increasingly unreliable we need to step up and say to the wider world that human rights are our concern. We threaten no one but we have the right to assert our values. It is important within this for every member state to understand how communities in many parts of the Union and particularly the newer member states have become detached and see a conflict between their needs and the agenda of Europe. The major demographic waves within Europe have left many isolated and feeling neglected. We have to work harder to build the relations away from the council chambers. We have to try to return at least in part to the much closest sense of common purpose which defined the Union when it was much smaller. For Ireland both the process of joining the then European economic community and our first decades of membership were profoundly empowering. We were then by some distance the poorest member of the Union but we had little difficulty developing deep connections with the other states. In today's Union this is much harder and its absence is a real problem. The renewed Europe which we want has to understand this and to show that we respect and value the contribution of all states and that our shared values are relevant to all. I and my party are campaigning to deliver a new government for our country. We believe in taking urgent action on critical issues like health, housing and the cost of living but we are also determined to deliver a new government which is more active in promoting reconciliation on this island, deep and permanent cooperation with our neighbour and making Ireland a leading member of the effort to renew Europe. To make the European Union stronger and more effective. To increase its ability to directly enable development and to tackle the generational challenges of innovation and climate change. To protect the core values of democracy, freedom and the rule of law. For us a strong Ireland is an Ireland that gets off the sidelines and helps Europe to move on from Brexit. Thank you very much indeed. Thank you very very much. I think the applause is an indication of the respect in which our words have been listened to. I'm going to proceed on the following basis. I'm going to take three short questions and questions rather than expressions of other types of activity. That can happen in another place at another time. So I see one hand at the back and I'm going for gender balances to two males. I'm looking now for a female. Female. Okay I'm starting with that person there at the back. Yes. You might give your name and any affiliations. Yeah Ronan Tynan film maker and member of the Institute. I must say I was really delighted to hear our I nearly said our next T-shirt but the polls might suggest that. Talk about human rights in a rather in a compelling way. My question is this. Would your foreign minister when he goes to Russia advocate increasing trade at a time when Russia is sanctioned by the European Union as the previous minister did? So I'm asking would your Minister of Foreign Affairs if you were a teacher do what the last one did. At a time when Russia was bombing hospitals in Syria as it continues to do today and commit crimes against humanity on a daily basis. We all know about the bombing of MH 17 the Malaysian era Russia shot down over Ukraine. We know about the invasion of Ukraine. We know about the annexation. So I'm really saying in meaningful terms supporting European values surely would support the sanctions and I really have asked the hard question on trade there. We support the sanctions. We have to be consistent with those sanctions in terms of our behavior. And that does have consequences for trade and trade missions. That would be my position on that. And I think we want better relations with Russia between Europe and Russia. And I think unfortunately events that you've outlined and others have created a situation where it's very difficult to sustain if you like normal ongoing relationships whilst those kind of things continue to happen. But obviously we support the European Union's position in relation to the continuing of those sanctions and obviously hopefully in time relations can get back on a more even keel. Thank you. Any other questions please. Yes. Here. We talked about strengthening and renewing the European Union. Does that extend to treaty change to overcome the increasing government in which I see the future of policy between the crisis? To be honest I think we need to concentrate on making sure that the existing treaties work. I think there would be challenges with a new treaty given the politically climate in some EU member states in terms of potential ratification. And obviously it's something one would have to examine and work with other countries on. But there are issues there. But in terms of issues around for example the banking union in terms of some degree fiscal union to make sure that the eurozone is absolutely robust and collective in terms of we believe the eurozone should have the capacity to help regions that are in difficulty and have sufficient capacity to so do. And we think we have to be consistent about the full implications of what a eurozone means. That ultimately guarantees I think better security and the avoidance of the kind of things that happened a decade ago. Please. Yes. Thanks very much Chairman. Blair Horne member of the Institute. Thanks very much Mihal for an excellent contribution and I was quite interested in your view in terms of renewing Europe and the future of Europe. The question really is in terms of the Hanseatic League and just be interested in your whether you would continue the existing approach in terms of Ireland's kind of so-called membership of the Hanseatic League because I find that if you look back to the early 70s when we prioritized the Franco-German alliance in terms of the motor of Europe I find the Hanseatic League can be tended to be divisive in terms of that. Also I'm not convinced even I find in terms of the Scandinavian unions they're not really supportive of a European approach to social policy even. They're kind of happy enough in terms of what model they have themselves and I'm not convinced it's in our long-term interest in terms of the future of Europe for us to be associated so closely with the Hanseatic League rather than the Franco-German alliance. I'll be just interested in your view on that. There may not be mutually exclusive. I think we do need to build and we would support the continuation of of that alliance in the sense that we need to really develop closer relationships with countries maybe we didn't maybe do it to the same degree in the past because of of Britain's exit. Britain's departure is a very significant change for us in terms of the dynamic within the European Union and maybe people the general public may not have understood very often the degree to which we work very closely together on many directors and particularly in the enterprise area and the business area in terms of the regulatory frameworks and so on where I would have felt that the British Irish contribution combined got it in terms of how to have reasonably workable frameworks and I think that will be a loss and we do have to seek to strengthen our alliances with other member states. But also I see happening as well as that the political blocs post Lisbon it's getting a bit more political as well in terms of the various groupings not just within the parliament but in terms of the political groupings within Europe and alliances can also be developed at a political level within one's respective groups political party groups now within Europe but I've noticed a significant sort of stepping up of that sort political bloc approach compared to the pre-Lisbon situation. I think we have to obviously maintain strong relationships with France and Germany and I think there are mechanisms and commonalities there that we can continue to press. Thank you. It's a question here please Hugh. If you can just give your name affiliation. Thank you Rory. My name is Hugh Logue. I'm a member of the Institute. Michal you mentioned in your address Sinn Fein and they appear to be going up in the polls if we're to believe the polls at the moment. Yet last month thousands of votes were lost by Sinn Fein. I'm thinking particularly in Derry where no less than over 17,000 votes moved away from Sinn Fein. Now you were up in the north at that time or during the campaign. I'm wondering since this is about Brexit was it a Brexit issue and the absence of Sinn Fein's voice at Westminster that caused that drift of 17,000 in Derry from them or was it local issues like the murder of Leroy McKee? First of all I'm conscious that this is a non-parasitism forum so I don't want to overdo the party Bill Gates and so on like that but I did canvas in Derry. There is no doubt on the doorstep that the both abstentionism from Westminster and the fact that there was no executive and assembly for three years was the deciding factor in what it was a dramatic transformation in terms of the majority of the columnist within Clare Hannah got compared to the votes in the last Westminster election. I mean I think there's a couple of hundred to 17,000 of majority they were defeated by a couple of hundred the STLP were and they win by about 17,000. On the doorsteps it was a bit funny at times because I went back out to columnist and said you need to tell them you'll attend because I said at the doors he's definitely going to attend to which I got is he really going to attend kind of thing and I think actually it was the media coverage. We suspect because previous times abstentionism in Westminster didn't really seem to resonate but as you know one thing out of Brexit was it created dramatic TV and the Irish public everybody was really captured by the coverage and they didn't see their people there. Who's representing the anti-Brexit boys? Who's representing the sort of DUP there on televisions and in the Parliament? They didn't see anybody from the anti-Brexit perspective and I think that resonated. I canvassed in the local elections in Norrie before that in May and it was interesting when a community centre and we met an Irish language group for example and they were learning Irish and compared to Kerry dialect because Cork people had to learn some of their Irish and Kerry with the Northern dialect and so on and then we all gathered with the art classes, no more classes in the community of senior citizens, we all gathered in and we had a kind of a coffee and they roasted columnist and all the public representatives because they weren't in the Assembly, they weren't doing their job and they actually said to me look we're learning Irish but we don't know what impact the Irish language act is going to have for us. We want to learn Irish, we want to speak it and I came away saying these people are very very impatient with our politicians, the fact that there's no Assembly, no Executive and I think that was the fundamental reason why the I think the vote came and why the Assembly is back up and running and the Executive is back up and running because I think the politicians heard the message loud and clear and clearly the failure to act more quickly after the parling murder of Lyra McKee was obviously in the background as well because people actually had an expectation that something would have happened more quickly in the aftermath of that terrible deed. Thank you there's a woman at the back of the hall is indicating and there's a man sitting down is indicating that. Thank you Park Coleman member of the Institute I'm sorry that I can't satisfy your request for gender balance but I'll try to be as as feminine as possible in my question in fact I'll start by saying that me all I'm sure you would welcome the unprecedented gender diversity of the commission and the fact that we have a president Ursula von der Leyen the first woman president of the commission but can I ask you would you also see the common sense that now policy institutes and institutions particularly in Europe need to reflect a different kind of diversity in terms of reflecting more the experiences of people. Brexit didn't just happen it was caused and it was caused because large segments of Europe's population feel alienated by policy institutes that for the best will in the world they don't feel reflect or understand the trials and tribulations they're going through. So there's a strong emphasis on increased public spending in this election but I think as we've seen with the National Children's Hospital there may also need to be more diversity in terms of implementing policies to make sure that they actually meet electric needs. I'm sure you'd agree with that and as a primary school teacher I'm sure you'd agree that as OECD studies show our class sizes are going to be critical in terms of investing and finally us Geilge ta ohasorm geilge, geilge ta a chance agon on changa ousod kon ar brand thrachtal e idr na chunt ta fiausu we can us in English we can use our Irish language branding to promote international trade diversification and I think that's a very exciting opportunity and I wonder do you have any thoughts on it? Fair but dear Mark. I think one of the big challenges and it might really have back to Colin's point earlier that the size and scale of the European Union the different party the different political systems in different member states creates huge issues about connections to citizens and it seems to me that that is the big challenge how Europe connects to citizens beyond the politics beyond the institutions. I can recall in the second referendum in Lisbon I worked with Margaret Wildstrom with the commissioner at the time and she did fund major research on how the citizen perceives European institutions and even at that stage the gulf was enormous between the citizen the early persons kind of understanding of Brussels the use of the language you know core of power and we went through all of that it's it means nothing to the person on the street and that is to me the ongoing challenge and much much more needs to be invested in communicating with people what Europe has done for you on a basic level whether it is aviation whether it is mobile roaming charges and a whole range of other issues and Europe needs to be more clever and proactive particularly with the younger generation who do get it actually in terms of their ease of access in terms of their student life in terms of access to academia different colleges and we need to work very proactively with the younger generations it was interesting in the British referendum the younger people were very angry with the fact that the Brexit vote went the way it did and there was a huge generational gap in the United Kingdom so I and some people say look we elect a common we should have a common plebiscite across Europe and elect the president of the council you know but I'm not so sure that that works either if I'm honest and I'm not sure that that connection would happen we've had the debate here for example about multi seed PR versus a list system you know the more I evolve my thinking all the time on this in many ways the list system exacerbates the gulf whatever you say about Ireland we're on the ground we're in touch we're knocking on doors there's a great connection in Ireland between politics to politicians and people that's not there and in France or other countries and I think the other member states need to reflect on that we all need to reflect on it before we promote changes to our system it's hard work being in a multi seed PR constituency it's all of that but there's a great connectedness there that I think helps us to connect Europe to to the people on the ground I think other member states could take lessons from that and the in terms of I'm a secondary school teacher I just had to get that in in terms of I was a secondary school teacher history August on Gaelga and the country to some journalists saying that the only ambition I ever had was to be a teacher that's not true at all as I keep telling students when I addressed them when I was a young fella in juniors see an interserter leaving sir my main ambition in life was to be a history teacher and then events took over as the man says in college and all the rest of it and you get involved and engaged and and so on like that and I suppose politics was hard worded into my DNA as well but it taught on a touch answer being on Gaelga you saw ganoris how lar obviously a cake or deferral it's a time aid I was learning she and and and says be okay son laidruct at all a stick in in our DNA I guess our gold tour August a chance to bring this more use side event I should know this coming vulgar will interest in the Europe which he'd I'm talking to him my relation to say Europe access my own relation thank you Rory I can't ignore your plea Mari cross member of the institute minister and I wanted to raise the issue of foreign policy and security and defense I think there's an expectation that people expect a European Union to be far more visible in terms of dealing with foreign policy issues and the uncertainties and difficulties indeed in the neighbors that's around the European Union do you feel that we should the Europe should take a stronger position in foreign policy issues such for example is Libya and how would how would be in a fall a view the security and defense issues for example if there was the Europe decided to take a much more muscular line in terms of putting boots on the ground for example in conflict spots well first of all I think we have clear mechanisms that I think within the European Union that protect our core beliefs in terms of neutrality and military neutrality and which doesn't inhibit the European Union states from taking actions on certain fronts I think there is a an ongoing challenge for European Union vis-a-vis NATO and the various roles that NATO adopts and that the European Union might adopt I think there are other challenges other than the you know in terms of international terrorism and the threats we've experienced in recent years which do call for closer cooperation on security matters and we say this with pesco and people attack it and so on but we need to protect our citizens from from new attacks and new forms of attacks and I think you know the approach we've taken today I think has been a constructive one given the limitations and given our own key core principles but I do think what I begin I mean I think we are witnessing a weakening of the transatlantic alliance and I think that has implications for the future and I think we have to think through that I think people are on eggshells at the moment treading on eggshells in terms of the relationship between the US and the European Union there's a lot of uncertainty there's a lot of insecurity around that and I think that perhaps is the more fundamental point that has to be that has to be addressed between the major states in Europe in terms of their capacity with the United States and I worry about the post world war two architecture fracturing somewhat and that is creating in itself some instability across the globe and that needs a moment of when there's a real meeting between you know serious engagement on that issue to work out what is the common position into the future obviously it's subject to domestic American politics as well and how that plays out thank you very much can I put a question to you and thank you again for being with this you spoke in your prepared remarks about building a relationship post-Brexit with our nearest and dearest neighbors Britain if you are in a position after the next election to implement that I would put it to you that given everything that the English and it has largely been an English driven issue although it affects the whole of the United Kingdom including Northern Ireland your would be in a position to possibly initiate a process of having a formal structured relationship between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland following the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union what sort of thoughts have you got in mind and would you take the initiative to actually structure a formal relationship to fill the gap that's now there absolutely as a foreign minister you know the familiarity of contact between British officials British ministers and ourselves was something that was very constructive we would meet very regularly depending on the different ministries one was in I can remember walking very closely with British ministers on the reach directive for example which had to do with chemicals and so on and the implications for industry and it was a friendly good relationship and you know I would have had strong relations with David Miliband for instance for example on the foreign council and I saw British governments Tony Blair Gordon Brown being very proactive in European summits and particularly on the climate change and Britain led the way along with some of the Nordics on climate change so the Nordic Council is one that we have touted where it's a structured relationship with a permanent secretariat we have the British Irish Council I'm not too sure that has the depth and capacity required to try and mirror or mirror what we had within the European Union but I would take the initiative on it and I can call many years ago at the British Irish Association in Cambridge I used to tend that regularly given my commitment to the north even as a backbench TD to try and understand all of the various views of different participants there but now the former cabinet secretary and master actually talking and I remember they're saying unequivocally that the foundation the rock upon which peace on the island of Ireland rests is an absolute tight proactive relationship between the British and Irish governments that can never be sundered it can never fall apart both governments must work in harmony and in use unison and be seen to in order to ensure the continuation and the sustainability of the peace dispensation on the island that's why I would take the initiative on this I think it's a very serious issue and we have to engage with our colleagues in the United Kingdom to make sure we can create a new structure so try and maintain that level of contact and engagement into the future thank you very much we will hold you to that commitment if you're successful in the next election thank you very much but can I on behalf of everybody's here first of all wish you personally well and to say to you that we very much appreciate that you have come to this place not once today but on many previous occasions as you've already indicated can we have a round of applause for