Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Donohoe, and his officials, together with his comprehensive presentation. In addition to what the previous speaker said, I understand the Minister of State met the Commissioner for enlargement, Mr. Stefan Füle. Could the Minister of State talk us through his views a little more? Deputy O'Reilly has outlined the views coming from the democratic policy council and Mr. Bassuener, which I agree with in principle. There seems to be a view that the carrot of enlargement or membership of the EU is not enough and maybe the interaction at European level needs to be broader than just examining the enlargement opportunity. It appears that the structured dialogue approach which the Commissioner has undertaken, in the views of some in that region, would "just pile new failure upon a three-year history of counterproductive policy." That is a rather strong statement, but it is a view that is emanating. Could the Minister of State tell us a little more of what the Commissioner has been saying? It is clear that there is deep concern and the achievements that have already been made are starting to be undermined and we are facing into a period of considerable unrest. The Tánaiste talked about that back when Ireland held its Presidency. We have a role to play there. Could the Minister of State talk that through a little more?

I imagine the Ukrainian situation is front and centre in the discussions and will occupy most of the time. It is an emerging and changing landscape so it is probably difficult to set out today the nature of the discussion. It will depend on how things ramp up.

With regard to Ireland's role, I support the Tánaiste's engagement with the Russian ambassador to this country. Has consideration been given by the Government to the non-attendance of its representative, namely, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Alex White, at the St. Patrick's Day festivities in Moscow in the next few days? While the Tánaiste started out correctly in taking a broad European approach by engaging with the ambassador, for us to be seen to be doing our own bidding on the side sends the wrong message. This is one of the most serious issues to befall Europe for some time and it will take strong diplomacy by all states. We are in a strong position as a neutral country to lead the diplomatic charge and would have the respect of all sides in that regard. However, we will undermine our own position by taking part in the St. Patrick's Day festivities considering what has happened in Ukraine in recent months and, more particularly, the approach taken by the Russians on the Crimean Peninsula.

The Minister of State and I have locked horns previously in the banking debate and I am sure we will have an opportunity to do so again. While it is important and an issue the Government needs to continue to raise, some positive statements emanated from the EPP congress which was held in Dublin and during which I am sure the Minister had a central role. We often hear positive statements on the margins of various meetings or political grouping interactions, but we do not see the hard movement that is important. Will the Minister of State update us on the status of banking union because it seems to be the prerequisite for all of this to happen?