Mr. Hugh Lovatt:

I will pick up on a few of Mr. Konený's points. We can continue to expand and deepen the conversation on practicalities. The idea of crafting a coalition of like-minded states is at the heart of any action. This is not just about bringing together like-minded governments but also about bringing together like-minded ministries and exchanging best practices at a ministerial working level. Other states have also encountered technical challenges with implementing differentiation and have come up with some solutions. Likewise, Ireland has perhaps come up with some solutions which it can also share as best practice with other member states. It is also a matter of building a coalition of the willing at the parliamentary and committee levels and trying to connect these various initiatives that are taking place, both in this House and elsewhere. Labelling is an example of where that happened because a number of foreign ministers came together who actively pushed successive high representatives to come up with a solution and guidelines. Why not replicate that elsewhere?

At a national level, there needs to be a more proactive Government policy to audit or review the full spectrum of national level relations with Ireland. This is not all about EU-level agreements. Ireland has some agreements with Israel, including a taxation agreement. The Government's policies are good. In large part, that is thanks to the efforts of the Irish Parliament, which has pressed the Government to clarify its positions. The next stage, as Mr. Konený said, now that the Government has made its positions clear and indicated that its remit does not apply to the settlements, is the question of how that policy is given effect and what mechanisms there are to ensure that. Even coming up with those technical actions is important not just in an Irish context but also with regard to sharing best practice and solutions with other member states, which may also be looking at similar issues.