Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I welcome the European Council's approach to the banking crisis. With its emphasis on the protection of taxpayers, transparency in the banking system, a system of executive pay in the financial sector that encourages responsibility and co-ordination between EU member states so as not to risk "beggaring thy neighbour", it provides a model which the Government would do well to emulate.

It is important to note that climate change is also evidence of the times in which we live and may prove even more unpredictable and catastrophic than the financial crisis. Hence, I welcome the European Council's renewed determination to honour its ambitious commitments on climate and energy policy. However, given that Ireland still has one of the highest carbon emissions per capita in Europe, the targets the European Union has set for Ireland may yet prove to be the most ambitious commitment of them all. Ireland's emissions declined by 500,000 tonnes in 2007. Unfortunately, if we are to meet our obligations under the European Union's energy and climate policy, we will need to take a further 18 million tonnes of carbon out of the economy in the next 12 years. Given the urgency with which we need to substantially reduce our carbon emissions and the difficulty in doing so, I again ask the Taoiseach to explain to the Dáil what he will propose to the European Council in December when it meets to decide on the implementation in each member state of the climate change policy package.

Given the conclusions of this European Council, the forthcoming Council meeting will be a busy one for the Taoiseach and the Government. In some newspapers I saw reports that his colleagues on the European Council had "ordered" the Taoiseach to return in December with a solution to the Lisbon treaty dilemma. The Taoiseach would agree with me that such headlines, whether accurate, are not helpful. As I have reiterated on a number of occasions, the rejection of the Lisbon treaty is not just an Irish problem, but also a European one. A number of questions must be worked out before a resolution can be reached and the imposition of arbitrary deadlines does not mean we will find the answers any faster. In the light of the global economic climate, the future of the European Union, its effectiveness and its capacity to respond to changing times assume a new urgency. However, given the seriousness of the issue in hand — Ireland's future in the European Union — the Taoiseach should ensure Ireland is not forced into any premature ultimatum.

I note also that the European Council has adopted the European pact on immigration and asylum. Migration is a global phenomenon, one that requires co-operation between both host nations and countries of origin. The Labour Party favours fair immigration and integration policies that maximise the benefits of migration for both the host country and migrants. However, it is imperative that a balance be struck between the need to manage migration in and out of the European Union and respect for human rights, human dignity and the rights of refugees. Given the sensitive nature of this balance, the Taoiseach and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform should outline to the Dáil as soon as possible exactly what measures set out in the pact on immigration and asylum will need to be "implemented immediately at both EU and national level," as is recorded in the conclusions to the European Council.

The subjects dealt with by the recent European Council meeting — global financial crisis, climate change and energy security and migration — are more than a snapshot of our time. They are critical challenges and will continue to be so in the future. It is imperative that the impasse arising from Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty does not distract us in Europe from the urgency of these challenges which can be dealt with only at a European level. European leadership has never been more important. I hope the Government in these testing times will ensure Irish leadership is not found wanting.

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