Dr. Gavin Barrett:

I think there are answers there if we are prepared to look at them. There might be solutions to the problems and I agree they are very real problems. The question of the Prime Minister of Ireland speaking to MEPs and asking them to represent the position he wished to see in the European Parliament comes down to the question of the separation of powers at European Union level and the different functions. National interests are represented in the Council of Ministers and the MEPs represent what they perceive to be the interests of their constituents, which may or may not coincide with the views of the Prime Minister of the country from which they come. I assume that is what the Irish Members of the European Parliament were doing.