Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

At the Council meeting, it became clear that Ireland was the only country to have a referendum. Was there any discussion among the Heads of States as to whether it would be desirable to have any incursion from Heads of States or parliamentary groupings or whatever into Ireland in the course of the referendum? The Taoiseach is reported to have invited Angela Merkel and, perhaps, Nicolas Sarkozy. Can the Minister give us some flavour of the views on whether Ireland is likely to become a conflict arena on this referendum or whether we will be left to our own devices to make our own decision?

The two critical areas are Kosovo and Chad in relation to external affairs. I am inclined to agree with Deputy Timmins that Kosovo could quickly move towards independence and that the EU would be seen to support that on the basis of the decision it took at the Council meeting. That will give rise to a straightforward conflict with Serbia and Russia and we must consider the broader implications. In regard to Chad, may we have some clarification as to whether the mission is going ahead in January? It would appear the logistical problems have been resolved, but that they could only be resolved by going outside the EU. It seems the EU does not have the logistical ability to conduct missions on which it makes decisions. Did the EU discuss that matter or did the Heads of State discuss it in terms of their ability to carry out missions on which it makes decisions? I am in favour of the Chad mission.

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