THE VOICES of our MEPs have never been stronger, Minister of Sate for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton has said in the Dáil.

“We in Ireland, since our accession in 1973, have experienced the transformative power of the European Union which not only brought us from poverty to relative wealth – yes, even today, in the midst of crisis, we remain among the richest nations on this planet – but also helped to radically alter the historically difficult relationship between Ireland and our closest neighbour,” she added.

“That step-change in the Anglo-Irish relationship was a major contribution to the negotiating environment which culminated in the Good Friday agreement.”

Ms Creighton said: “Ten days ago, Ireland, along with other member states, submitted our national reform programme under this strategy. Our programme identifies ambitious national targets in each of the five headline areas and sets out the measures necessary to achieve these targets.”

Commitments were not enough, she added. “The Government is committed to structural reforms, to increase competitiveness, to support enterprise, to remove barriers and disincentives to employment and to generate sustainable economic growth across all regions.

“As part of this, the Minister for Finance will set out the Government’s jobs initiative later this week. What matters now is implementation and action.”

Ms Creighton said Ireland’s ambition was to become a leader in innovation. “Our goal is to develop an innovation-driven economy that maintains competitive advantage and increases productivity.We have seen during this recession that those companies which invested in research, development and innovation have held or increased market share and employment.”

While there was broad public awareness of EU funding for agriculture or, until recently, for roads and infrastructure, there was less awareness of the extent to which Ireland already benefited from EU research and development.

“So far Ireland has secured €269 million, of which €17 million has been awarded to the SME sector,” Ms Creighton said.