Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

In terms of the constitution, if the Minister was to be consistent with the stance taken here, would it not be right to ask the French and the Dutch, or even the other ten member states, to put the constitution to a vote again? I do not understand the need for a longer and more intense period of reflection, clarification and discussion in light of the results. The Minister said that if we make an agreement we cannot turn around and break that agreement. The agreement was made that ratification would be complete by November of next year. Already, the European Council has broken that agreement. That is the reason there is a perception of cynicism. I do not understand, and perhaps the Minister will enlighten me, why two years is not long enough to discuss this issue. Rather than delaying the inevitable, will the Minister agree that the proper stance to take would be to accelerate the process to enable the issue be put to a vote at an earlier stage? That would give those people who wish to reject it an opportunity to do so quicker and allow us to get on with the next debate rather than debate a dead duck, so to speak.

What instructions has the Minister or the Taoiseach given to the Referendum Commission on the constitution or has that been put into cold storage also? How does the Minister and his EU colleagues intend to overcome the rejection so far by two countries and perhaps more in the future?

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