Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Are all the parties in government fully supportive of the reform treaty, as it would certainly represent a U-turn for one of the parties in government which has opposed all the treaties to date? I would be like to be given an assurance in that regard.

The Taoiseach stated legal advice was still being sought, presumably from the Attorney General, as to whether the treaty required a referendum to be ratified. I am still confused as to whether we will definitely have a referendum or if we are still awaiting legal advice. All of the other countries are proceeding on the basis of parliamentary ratification. They seem to intend to have such ratification completed by the end of this year. It would not be desirable to find ourselves, with all the other 26 countries having ratified the document, out on a limb in putting the treaty to the people in a referendum. It would be desirable to have spacing in the ratification process.

On the opt-outs, will prior approval be sought by both Houses of the Oireachtas, as has been the case before? Will the Oireachtas get to scrutinise any opt-out proposals made by the Government? We need to beef up the element of scrutiny by the Joint Committee on European Affairs. We need the personnel and other resources to operate that committee. While it is not yet in place, can we get a guarantee that we will be able to have a more meaningful committee which will have the powers, personnel and time to carry out the scrutiny that European directives and legislation emanating from the European Union deserve?

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