Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Fáiltím roimh an Taoiseach tar éis an sos. I welcome the Taoiseach back by giving him an assurance. If the electorate votes in favour of the proposed EU constitution in a referendum and, as the Taoiseach as indicated perhaps it may not be this year, I assure him that although my arguments will not have won I will not call for a second referendum. Will the Taoiseach reciprocate that assurance? Will he assure the House that in the event of the electorate rejecting the EU constitution in referendum that he will not again present the arguments in a second referendum? That would be a fair exchange at the outset of this term and I hope the Taoiseach will reciprocate the assurance I have given him.

If the referendum on the EU Constitution is not to be held in 2005 when is it proposed to hold it? Is it possible that the Taoiseach will hold off so it can be held in tandem with an early general election in 2006? We are all interested to hear what he has to say on that.

Will the Taoiseach ensure there is full access to information on the text of the EU constitution? I understand we are talking about 564 pages of text but I do not want that to sound prohibitive. Will the Taoiseach outline the steps he proposes to take to ensure full and fair access to all the relevant information in the document? Has he noted the steps the Spanish Government has taken in the lead up to its referendum? What measures does he and the Government propose to take? Will he give an assurance to the House and the electorate that a fair and balanced executive summary will be available, that it will not be the peddling of one line of argument but that all the pros and cons will be outlined in a fair and equitable way?

The website of the Department of Foreign Affairs says there is a publicly accessible fund for promoting information about the EU constitution. Will the Taoiseach assure the House the fund will be available to all sides in the argument and not to promote only one view on this important debate that has yet to get under way?

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