Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 81: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will be meeting the civic society groups in relation to the upcoming referendum on the EU fiscal treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13488/12]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Question 82: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade when he will be setting up the Referendum Commission in relation to the referendum on the EU fiscal treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13489/12]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Question 85: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the progress made in relation to deciding a date for the fiscal treaty referendum; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13956/12]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 81, 82 and 85 together.

As the House will be aware, the Government decided yesterday that the date of the referendum will be 31 May 2012. The Bill allowing it to go ahead will be published later this week, for full and thorough debate in the Oireachtas over the next month.

In choosing this date, we want to ensure an informed debate in which the people have full information about - and understanding of - the treaty and its wider context. We also need to give the Referendum Commission enough time and resources to do its important job. The commission will be established by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government once the Bill to amend the Constitution has been published, in principle at the end of this week.

The Government intends to work with civil society groups as part of a determined effort to ensure that voters are well-informed. This will involve listening civil society members from many backgrounds and perspectives. In this context I welcome the work of the subcommittee of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs, which has sought public submissions on the treaty and will commence a series of hearings next week. Aside from the debate here within the Oireachtas, I would urge all interested groups to launch their own debates around the country as the referendum approaches.