Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

In my view the most important foreign visit the Taoiseach will make before the end of the year is to the General Council meeting in Brussels in December. Will the Taoiseach consider breaking with precedent and come to the House before he goes to that meeting to outline what proposals he intends to put to his fellow prime ministers? One of the shortcomings of this House's dealings with Europe is that the House does not have an input before such meetings. It would be helpful to the Taoiseach and to the Irish people in general in understanding the way forward if we all had an input or were allowed to express a view before he went to the meeting, which is to be held on 13 December. Perhaps he will consider breaking with precedent and consult the House beforehand.

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