Mairead McGuinness Fine Gael MEP

This is a really nervous time of year for those doing Inter and Leaving Cert exams, not to mention their parents.

We have two sitting the leaving cert. – twins, Orlaith and James. I am very glad that we are into day 2 of the exams. The first day is the worst day.

We want to see our children doing well but we also need them to understand that in the overall scheme of things, the exams are only a part of their future.
Most of those doing leaving cert will probably do further study, so my hope is that students get onto the courses they want to take.

On Thursday evening last, I was in Mountmellick launching a Youth Resource Pack centring on the democratic process, which was painstakingly put together by a group of young people called ‘New Directions’.

This fantastic group of young people are part of the Mountmellick Youth Development Centre and the project took them through the nuts and bolts of democracy work.
The training pack produced by the group can be used by any youth group simply by downloading it online at: http://www.mountmellickdevelopment.com/  This pack will enable any club or group of young people to create, or partake in, a democratic process – including the holding of student council elections.

What was great about the Mountmellick event was that the students presented their own work, spoke about the links with a youth group in the UK and all that they had learned along the way. There is at least one budding politician in the group and I encouraged all of them to stay involved and stay active in the democratic process.

On Saturday in glorious sunshine, I joined over 22,000 others at Bloom Festival in the Phoenix Park.

It was a great day – there was a great display of produce, food, show gardens and every garden gadget you could imagine. The Phoenix Park is a great resource and a great location for this event which is now a firm favourite for the June weekend. No surprise that the festival was the busiest yet with some 90,000 visitors. Great credit is due to all involved.

Bord Bia deserve a special word of congratulations. It was great to see so much interest in growing produce and buying food produce from small enterprises. I came home with lots of goodies. Holycross Butterscoth Sauce from the Tipperary Kitchen was delicious!

Monday morning I headed for Strasbourg. The e coli crisis was high on the agenda. It is causing death and compromising the health of thousands across the EU – it is the largest and one of the most serious outbreaks ever and finding the source is hugely important.

In the debate in the Parliament, Spanish MEPs were extremely angry with Germany for incorrectly claiming that cucumbers from Spain were implicated. The economic consequences for Spanish growers and for growers across the EU are extremely serious and compensation is on offer to try and offset some of the losses.

Amid all of this the issue of the next President of Ireland is commanding much attention. As I said in a letter to members I am aware of the enormity of the challenge and the importance of the role of President, particularly as we embark upon the road to restoring our economic, social and general well being.