Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I have three questions. Will the Minister say whether the Government accepts the will of the people since they voted "No"? Can any part of the treaty be brought through the Dáil and is the Government considering such an approach? When talking to his European colleagues, did the Minister ask them the reasons they did not hold referendums in their respective countries? I asked a politician that question in France last week and he told me that if they had held a referendum, it would have been rejected by the people. If the treaty is so good, why did the rest of the member states not put it to the people and give them an opportunity to vote on it?

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