Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is not a rush. As I outlined earlier, more than half of EU countries have ratified this treaty. It was agreed years ago and has been ratified by the European Parliament. If we were rushing, we would be one of the first to ratify it. I would like us to be one of the first to ratify, and to be in the advance group to do so, but we are already going to be in the second half. In Germany, there is a court case, which has yet to be resolved, but I believe the state will ratify it. The Senator mentioned France. It has already gone through its National Assembly, the lower house, and it has not gone through its Senate. The French presidential elections that the Senator mentioned will be held in April or May next year, so I would read those comments as saying that France intends to ratify it some time next year, and perhaps even in the earlier part of next year.