COMMENT: Our future is totally connected to Europe

IN POLITICS, as in life, having enough time to do all the things you want to do is always difficult. 

My time since my election to the European Parliament in 2014 has literally flown by. It’s a great privilege to represent all of Dublin in Europe. While the travel and commuting can be tiring, I’ve become really aware over the last two years about how our future is totally connected to Europe.

The transition from being a TD to an MEP didn’t take me too long. Previously I had worked in Government as a Minister of State and had represented the country around the table of the Council of Ministers. So I had some idea of the complex world of the EU.

But nothing prepares you for a parliament that has 751 MEPs. In effect, you work within your committees – in my case, the ECON Committee, the important economic affairs committee of parliament. 

In the Dáil, the committee system doesn’t have the same standing as it has in Brussels. An individual MEP working on a new law can make a big difference. 

In Ireland, we have a very centralised system of politics with the Government deciding what it accepts or rejects. In the EU, parliament committees have enormous power in setting the agenda and signing off on EU-wide law.

On one level, politics is the same the world over. In Irish politics you are a big fish in a very small bowl; in European politics you are a tiny fish in an enormous ocean. 

Former Dublin MEP Gay Mitchell gave me good advice when I was starting out in 2014. He said that it’s all about networking in the EU Parliament. You make progress on issues that affect Ireland by networking and winning people over to the issues that are important to us. 

No matter who is in Government in Ireland, we have key strategic interests that need to be protected across the EU institutions: like protecting the IFSC in Dublin; getting more funding/investment for housing; accessing training opportunities for young people; or winning job opportunities for the city.

While the EU is great for trading into with all our Irish goods and services, we are also up against stiff competition from other capital cities. So competition is king and being an ambassador for your city in the parliament is very important to me, as is winning for Dublin. 

I’m not into the politics of knocking and opposition for the sake of opposition. Others can do that.

People contact me as their MEP all of the time and on a very diverse range of issues. From local issues, just like a TD, to more international issues or issues that affect them as they travel across the EU. 

Politics in Europe is very issues based. From people who have been badly treated by car rental companies when abroad to couples who want you to find out how banks in other counties allow for the switching of mortgages. 

With Christmas coming, I’ve launched a ‘Know Your Rights’ campaign with regard to online shopping. 

Much of our purchasing is now done online and from other European countries and I think it’s important people are aware of their entitlements before they part with their hard-earned cash. More information is available on www.eccireland.ie

The key challenge is to relate your work directly to citizens in Dublin. 

How will this or that EU proposal affect an industry or someone’s quality of life? 

The decision of parliament recently to abolish roaming charges is an example. 

Why can’t my relative get access to the EU cross-border health care for a hip replacement? 

Why can’t my local national school be recognised as an EU digital school of excellence? 

What rights do I have to stop a pension company transfer a pension scheme to another member state? 

All of these issues affect people’s lives and they all relate directly to the EU. 

Brian Hayes is a Fine Gael MEP for Dublin.