Ms Brenda McVeigh:

If it provides reassurance, I can inform the Deputy that we meet in plenary session. Obviously, matters should be discussed at meetings of the working party. Such gatherings provide an opportunity for bilateral and multilateral discussions to take place. We meet outside of the formal sessions in order to engage in such discussions. There is no point in ignoring the fact that only the 11 member states involved have a say in what they are finally going to achieve. At the most recent meeting of the working party, comments were made publicly in respect of how active Ireland had been during its Presidency in the context of trying to hold discussions such as those to which I refer. During the six months of our Presidency we were very active in talking to other member states and ensuring our views were heard, even outside of working party sessions. We have not been lackadaisical.