Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

Is é seo Seachtain na Gaeilge. Ba mhaith liom úsáid na Gaeilge i rith na seachtaine a mholadh do gach uile Theachta. Cuirfidh mé tús leis sin trí cheist a chuir trí Ghaeilge. Ar cén dáta an mbeidh an reifreann ar chonradh Liospóin? I ask, as has already been put to the Taoiseach, whether he is in a position to name a date for the referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Does he accept the debate has already begun and that some difficulties have arisen in terms of understanding why a date has yet to be confirmed? Will the Taoiseach explain why that is the case?

In his response to Deputy Kenny the Taoiseach made reference to the extent of the consolidated text of the treaty. Does he accept that while he is probably correct to say every citizen will not necessarily want to read the entire treaty text, many will wish to do so? It is an absolute right that people should have access to the text. Is the Taoiseach aware that this was done in France with regard to the European constitution referendum proposals which, to all intents and purposes, mirrored the Lisbon treaty now to be addressed in this jurisdiction? Is he aware that asking the electorate to endorse a treaty which it cannot access or study in full is a flawed approach, particularly as it has been said here time and again, including by the Taoiseach and other Government and Opposition voices who support the "Yes" position, that it should be read in tandem with both the Nice and Maastricht treaties? Is he aware that each of these treaties is out of print and that none of them, including the Lisbon treaty, is available from the Government Publications Sale Office? What will be done other than present the 22-page booklet which is heavily skewed towards the "Yes" position? Is he prepared to address this major deficiency in information presentation on the Lisbon treaty?

Is the Taoiseach aware that the European Parliament voted down a motion that sought its confirmation of the outcome of the Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty? Is he aware that the motion was proposed by GUE-NGL, to which my party colleagues are affiliated, and supported by the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs in the European Parliament? However, it was voted down——

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