Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I do not think so. That court answers to the Council of Europe, which will probably enshrine in its own constitution the commitments of the charter. It has probably done much of that already. The bigger issue of the court is a different question, with so many new cases coming to it, which is causing difficulties.

In reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin, I took part in the discussions referred to. I referred only to some matters in my reply but I asked in particular for support on the Irish language issue. We now have a clearer understanding in that area. I am supportive of what the Spanish Government is trying to do, but a different emphasis is involved and I did not want that issue to delay our argument. We made that clear. I will support Prime Minister Zapatero in terms of the regional languages, but I did not want Ireland to become bogged down in that. We have now cleared that issue, which will help us to make progress. The next COREPER meeting is in June. There are some other issues to resolve with other countries but we are narrowing them down.

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