Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I will try to be brief because I also mentioned this point in my contribution. Following the failure of the IGC last autumn the press reported that Article 40, common defence provisions, had been agreed and signed off on prior to the breakdown. The Taoiseach later denied that was the case. I subsequently sought clarification of the matter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs on 12 February but he refused to answer my question. Last week, I sought clarification on this matter from the Minister for Defence but he, too, refused to answer the question. The answer is simply, "yes" or "no". Can the Taoiseach confirm whether Article 40, common defence provisions, have been agreed? More importantly, has the Government agreed to them and on what terms? Are Article 40 provisions on the list of the 20 outstanding problem areas. If so, does the Irish Government consider them to be an outstanding problem? If it believes that, what changes does it seek to Article 40? The most important question is whether the Taoiseach can confirm that Article 40, covering common defence provisions, has been agreed.

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