Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

When I heard the Minister of State's reply I returned to the House to reiterate my position on this Bill. Before the sos I outlined my concerns about the Bill, but the Minister of State or whoever wrote the speech for him seems to have come up with a different version of events. I expressed concerns about the direction in which this Bill is going and that we were being asked to agree to a blank page regarding future legislation.

I know that the Minister of State is accustomed to gilding the lily and he ended up before a tribunal about gilding the lily on a radio station. He has gilded the lily again today and I ask him to retract his statement. Neither I nor my party are anti-European, we are pro-European. I am not anti-democratic but I believe this Bill is. The Minister of State's remarks are regrettable in the manner in which he described our organisation and our party. We were trying to outline our concerns about this Bill in a sane and logical manner. These concerns are shared by many in this country and by many in this Chamber, in particular on this side of the House.

The Minister of State is trying to back us into a corner and implying we are trying to do something that we are not trying to do. I ask him to reflect on my remarks made before the sos as they will be written in the Official Report of Dáil proceedings. I outlined the undemocratic nature of this Bill, which is bringing us in a direction that is of concern. I ask the Minister of State to read my exact words on this issue.

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