Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

The Taoiseach said he knew about the British position from the COREPER meeting prior to the Council. When did he learn of the position of the British Prime Minister on the reform of CAP as a quid pro quo in terms of the British rebate? Will the Taoiseach explain the sense of the British Prime Minister being prepared to put so much at risk for a rebate of the order of £1.7 billion sterling, which is not very significant in the context of the British budget? Will the Taoiseach state how he sees the way forward? Is there likely to be progress under the British Presidency, given the double whammy of the failure to agree a budget and the Dutch and French decisions on the constitution? What are the implications for Romania and Bulgaria? Is it intended to proceed with the discussions, due to be initiated in autumn, with the Turkish Government? Is it not being flippant to dismiss out of hand the points of Deputy Joe Higgins on why the electorate in France and the Netherlands did what it did? I refer to, for example, French views on some of these issues regarding the direction of the economy and the opening of discussions with Turkey. Is there any point in not admitting there is an issue there? Does the Taoiseach agree that, in terms of attending meetings around the country, it is alright for us on this side of the House to state there will be no referendum on the constitution prior to a general election in Ireland?

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