Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)

While I am not aware of any specific countries, it is likely the Commission will come forward with other potential agreements in the future. I will listen to this committee if it makes a decision that it would prefer to opt in under Article 4 rather than under Article 3. I will listen to it, although I cannot guarantee I will do it. It is a balancing call. There are advantages in doing it this way. The real advantage in doing it this way is that we become part of it. We have negotiated it. The other alternative is just to let the other member states go off and negotiate an agreement. In that scenario, we sort of just decide to become part of it. That is not great from Ireland's point of view because we will not have had a say in it. That is where there is a real democratic deficit because there is nothing elected Irish people can do about it at that stage.