Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach and Government have decided to commission research on the results. Some of the research I have seen has been contradictory. The Eurobarometer states immigration was an issue of concern to 1% of the people. We need qualitative research as well as quantitative. There is contradictory evidence. The Sunday Business Post said neutrality and tax were of concern to 50% and 60% of the people. They were minor issues. Those issues have always been there. I disagree with the Minister for Foreign Affairs in that those battles have been fought in the past. Individuals who fight those battles now do not really believe in the European project and they use those issues as a front. They may have influenced a certain number of people but they were not the overriding issues.

Earlier the Taoiseach spoke about trying to get out the information on the accuracy or otherwise with which people speak. The national broadcaster has a role to play. It produced a few very effective programmes late in the day. The commentators and people in the national broadcaster must have the information on what is in the treaty. They let some of the issues go unchallenged. Some issues also went unchallenged by politicians on the "Yes" side. The one that really gets to me is the suggestion that we would lose half our voting strength on the European Council. One could equally make the claim that our vote would double. However that went unchallenged by politicians and commentators.

The National Forum on Europe and the Referendum Commission can be two easy targets, particularly from the "Yes" side. We need to examine how this House tied the hands of the Referendum Commission due to the shortage of time. I hope the environment committee invites it in to see where it saw the shortfalls in the legislation under which it operates. The timeframe for the Referendum Commission to try to get established, familiarise itself with the information and disseminate it was very restrictive. The Forum on Europe is another easy target. The Forum on Europe produced the best information on the Lisbon treaty in an excellent, impartial booklet. It did tremendous work.

A number of years ago the Forum on Europe identified two sectors of the electorate, namely women and young people. Both groups played a key part in this referendum. The research will show that many young people voted who had never voted in elections before, despite having the opportunity, and most of them voted "No". They were very motivated in voting. We on the "Yes" side cannot assume people will vote "Yes" if the issue is rerun. We must be very careful how this is approached and what the way forward is. While it is a European problem, the response must come internally. The solution cannot be imposed on Ireland from outside and I caution the Taoiseach to be wary of that. Many of the measures due to come in under the Lisbon treaty do not come in until 2014, so there is no rush in finding a solution and that message should be brought back to the Taoiseach's European colleagues.

Others issues arose, including food and oil. Some member states introduced short-term measures to deal with the difficulties for low income households with regard to food prices. I do not know if this is applicable in Ireland or if the Government has plans to bring in measures to deal with it. I ask the Minister to consider the emphasis on the production of biofuels and the impact this is having on the price of food, which is an issue for the EU at large. While it is only one of the factors that has increased the price of food, we need to examine the implications of this policy across Europe.

We provide in the region of €200 million to the World Food Programme. The increased price of oil this year alone will bring an extra $400 billion to Saudi Arabia. I note it has given $500 million to the World Food Programme but perhaps we should consider how we might reallocate money within our own aid budget because the food programme is very beneficial.

On Kosovo and EULEX, there seems to be some uncertainty as to the status of the force and how it will move forward, an issue I will raise with the Minister on Question Time. The only way we can guarantee or assist stability in the Balkans is by having all those countries within the EU.

The Minister made brief reference to Zimbabwe. Is there anything we can do here or in Europe in this regard? It strikes me that when the real crunch comes, the only ones who can do anything are the Americans. When we in Europe try to get a common defence policy to develop our resources so we could do the many things that would assist, and which the international community cries out for, the very people who cry out for intervention are the ones who complain about measures that are taken to ensure we have the facilities and wherewithal to do it. I find it an unusual contradiction.

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