Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to the Deputy for that supplementary because it is critical that the truth be told in the debate in the run-up to the referendum. The Deputy can take it that the WTO talks and the Lisbon referendum are not in any way connected. He can also take it that, irrespective of where we are at in our internal referendum, under European law, if and when a decision is made at the WTO talks, it must come back to and be unanimously agreed in Council. I am not sure what Mr. Adams said because I was engaged in business in the other House and, unfortunately, could not attend the meeting of the forum. However, if he made that point, and I have no doubt the Deputy is accurately reflecting what he said, he was not stating the position correctly.

On the general issue, I met five Commissioners in the past while and we discussed the WTO on each of those occasions. A week and a half before President Barroso visited this city I happened to be in Brussels for a group of meetings with EU Commissioners and their cabinets and at the same time I met the Irish farming organisations, particularly the IFA. We had a lengthy discussion and, following a briefing I received there, I went and briefed each of the cabinets and the Commissioners. It is simply not correct to say that the Government has in any way been indolent or taken its eye off the ball. We are making contacts at every conceivable level.

To return to the Deputy's point, which is an important one and I am pleased he raised it, the Lisbon treaty does not have the effect Mr. Adams attributed to it. In the event of a different agreement at WTO — I believe the prospects for agreement at the WTO are not good — first and foremost it will have to come back to the Council and that is where we must have our influence. That is where building alliances in Europe will be critically important for Ireland, our agricultural sector and the future of European agriculture.

As I said, and I believe the Deputy will agree with me, on 13 June after votes are counted, who in this country believes we will be in a better position to negotiate and build alliances if we get a "No" vote?

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