Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Maybe I should not bother then as I cannot inform the House any more. The Deputy will be aware how these discussions take place. It would be inappropriate for me to discuss informal discussions that have taken place with other member states. The Government is committed to achieving this objective. Last spring, during the negotiations for the EU constitution, a similar process of working around the table in getting member states to agree was successfully handled by the Taoiseach. I am confident that those working in this process will have the same result. I will not go into details as to what is happening as it will not help the case because of how these discussions take place. It is wrong to believe that the Government is not committed to achieving this objective as quickly as possible. The day one decides to proceed with the argument for recognition, all 25 member states must be in agreement.

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