Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

There is a specific Irish and Austrian protocol on this.

As to Europe's future prospects, we clearly need a Union that can keep delivering for Europeans, including Irish people, as it has done so impressively over the past decade. The treaty provides the Union with the necessary tools to set about securing the gifts of peace and prosperity for future generations. The reform treaty is the latest stage in the development of the Union that has provided Ireland with a positive framework. The Irish people have always responded positively to Europe's evolution and shown great commitment to Ireland's European role. The reform treaty represents the next necessary step in Europe's evolution. We will want to be part of this progression, which is completely in line with our own values and traditions. I am confident that our people will, when given the opportunity over the course of the next year, affirm their wholehearted commitment to a dynamic and progressive Union with Ireland at its heart.

I thank Members for their contributions. Any Member who wishes to discuss this issue will find my door open, because I believe that if we work together we can bring a good story to the Irish people. We did this in a unique way in the Convention on the Future of Europe. No other country had as wide a representation, in a political sense, as this one, and we gained immeasurably from that. I believe we can make progress in the area of the reform treaty in exactly the same way.

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