Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I thought it was something that he had in mind and my worst fears have been realised. Can I say that it takes a little bit longer than the ten minutes available to us to develop all the themes relating to this issue?

I honestly believe that the Lisbon treaty is an honest treaty that does more to address the issues of concern we had than any other treaty I have seen heretofore. One cannot have a treaty that will meet all the requirements of every member state, be they 27 or 37. However, it does go down the road of addressing the issues that have concerned us in this country and many other people throughout Europe over the past four or five years. If Europe progresses for the next 50 years as much as it did in the past 55 years, it will do well. I hope that this is the legacy that the current generation of Europeans could well hand over to the next generation and that it would be a good one.

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