The level of knowledge of Irish people about how the European Union works is particularly low, although Irish people in general are among the most positively disposed towards the Union, according to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Michéal Martin.

The extent of the knowledge deficit about Europe was uncovered by a major programme of research undertaken for the Department of Foreign Affairs by the research company, Milward Brown IMS last year.

To tackle this knowledge deficit, the Minister has now launched a special website, eumatters.ie, to provide factual information about Ireland’ s membership of the European Union, and how its various institutions, including the European Parliament, Commission and Council of Ministers, actually work.

It also features a series of video presentations by various Irish people, including former Labour Party Leader, Dick Spring; former EU Commissioner, Peter Sutherland; former European Parliament President, Pat Cox, and EU peacekeeping commander, Lieut. Gen.Pat Nash, who have played prominent roles on the European stage.
 

“We hope that eumatters.ie will become the place where clear and reliable information about EU issues and their relevance to Irish people can be found. It will seek to highlight the relevance of EU programmes, policies and initiatives to Irish people.”
 

“It will also help people to understand how the EU works, and explain Ireland’s part within the Union, and how we are working together with our partners to tackle a range of issues, including the current economic and unemployment crisis”, the Minister added.

Mr. Martin said he hopes that eumatters.ie will become the definitive source that people will turn to for information about EU issues in general, and their relevance to Irish people in particular.

“It also includes a section ‘The EU and You’ which seeks to highlight the relevance of EU programmes, policies and initiatives to various categories of people in Ireland, including workers, parents, students, women, and so on”, he added.

The site incorporates interactive elements, including video and animations, and it also enables people to submit queries for answer.