Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for coming before us this afternoon and I look forward to working with him in the coming years.

I am totally in favour of supporting the Minister regarding the opt-in under Article 3 for the simple reason that for far too long we and our constituents have been highly critical of Europe dictating to us here in Ireland and the fact that we have never been part of the conversation. Today, we have a Minister looking for permission to be part of a conversation in order that, when a position is reached, he can come back and share it with us. To me, this is logical and I thank the Minister for wanting to be part of the conversation to ensure Ireland's voice is heard. I am fully supportive, as are my colleagues here beside me.