Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also thank the Minister of State for regularly attending and briefing us on issues to do with the European Union. I wish him well in his travels. He has visited a number of countries and we appreciate the work that he does on behalf of the Irish nation state.

To follow-on from Senator Leyden, the Minister of State said in his contribution that we will continue to study the draft guidelines carefully in terms of the overall approach to the negotiations and the many issues that arise beyond those and are unique to Ireland. I am not asking him to divulge our negotiating strategy. Have we sought changes to the draft guidelines before they are approved by the European Council? Is there much activity by other member states in terms of the draft guidelines? Have our EU partners sought to include or exclude new issues? Have negotiations and tick-tacking got under way? Does he think the draft guidelines will be more or less adopted? I am interested in hearing a progress report on the matter, having regard to some of the issues mentioned by Senator Leyden.

I welcome the Rome declaration, particularly the four key aims, namely, a safe and secure Europe, a prosperous and sustainable Europe, a social Europe and a stronger Europe. We can all subscribe to those as they ensure peace, prosperity, progress and the future of the European Union. On the latter point, there has been talk of a multi-speed Europe and a two-speed Europe. What is the position of member states on these issues? Is pressure coming from member states for a two-speed or multi-speed Europe? What issues arise in this regard and what areas of competence are relevant? The Taoiseach has informed the Dáil on several occasions that Ireland wants to be at the forefront and to lead the way on this.

I was very interested to learn about the national reform programme and country-specific recommendations. Perhaps the committee could return to them at some point. One issue relates to housing supply and spatial planning, which are huge issues in Dublin and the rest of Ireland. I would be interested to know what the European Union had to say on these issues. This committee should give more attention to the national reform programme and country-specific recommendations because they touch on all areas on Irish life.