Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

It is good to see agreement on the importance of this issue. This is not surprising. We are in discussions with the Commission at present and it is taking a particular line. We must examine this and determine whether an agreement can be reached as soon as possible. I agree with the Deputy that there should be no delay because the consequences of a delay would be too serious. If agreement cannot be reached, perhaps other avenues ought to be investigated, as the Deputies are suggesting. In the first instance, we want to have agreement through the mechanism we are currently pursuing. That is the focus of the discussions at present.

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