CAROLINE ERSKINE,
Sir, - W.J. Murphy (June 15th) asks: what has the National Forum on Europe been doing? Quite a lot, actually.
The forum was established last October with the task of debating our relationship with Europe, its relevance to our daily lives and to the future of our children. It does not advocate. It seeks to clarify and demystify.
The forum was designed to be as inclusive as possible. It embraces all political parties and groupings as well as organisations representing civil society.
The rejection of last June's referendum on the Nice Treaty, together with the low turnout, pointed up two things which are driving the work of the Forum.
Firstly, many voters - and indeed those who chose not to vote - believed they were not provided with enough accessible information to make an informed decision. To address that, the forum's chairman, Senator Maurice Hayes, has taken the debate to 28 public meetings all over the country. More are planned for the autumn.
Secondly, the forum discussions have confirmed that there are genuine concerns which need to be addressed. The latest report of the work of the forum sets these out in a fair and balanced way. Both the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs have committed themselves to taking on board the forum findings during this weekend's summit of EU leaders in Seville.
Should Mr Murphy require detailed information on the extensive work of the forum, I refer him to its website at www.forumoneurope.ie. - Yours, etc.,
CAROLINE ERSKINE, Media Relations Officer, The National Forum on Europe, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2.