Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I too join others in complimenting the work of all the participants in the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union. Its chairman, Senator Paschal Donohoe, in particular, did an outstanding job in steering the sub-committee's work in what was an intensive and, sometimes, gruelling endeavour. Trojan work was put done by my sub-committee colleagues, on which I compliment them. I agree, however, with Deputy Timmins that Sinn Féin, in particular, had reservations from the start. It made it clear from day one that it had no intention of subscribing to whatever report was agreed by the sub-committee. That is unfortunate because it was a constructive exercise into which everyone went with an open mind.

The report contains a series of worthwhile recommendations. I hope there will be more of a commitment from the Government benches in implementing some of them, particularly those that involve changes to the EU scrutiny system and how the Oireachtas deals with European affairs. It is imperative the Government takes them on board, not just considers them, leaving them on a shelf to gather dust.

Despite the positive work and input into the work of the sub-committee, the Government has been somewhat lacklustre in its response to the referendum result in June. I did not need a sub-committee report to tell me that the consequences of the result for our national interests were devastating. We face an extremely serious situation but there has been no adequate response from the Government benches. The response has been more akin to a rabbit caught in headlights. The Taoiseach, in particular, and certain Ministers have had no response to the crisis. There has been no reality check or attempt to highlight how grave the implications of the "No" vote are for our national interests. There has been no reference to the European Union or the aftermath of the Lisbon treaty referendum result for several months, which is alarming. The only response has been the Minister for Finance blaming the European Central Bank for high interest rates which is unfortunate and symptomatic of the Government's approach to the European Union in the past decade. The positives are claimed by the Government as successes at a national level; when things go wrong, the buck is passed to the European Union. That attitude needs to change.

We need a clear statement from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, preferably, or the Taoiseach setting out how the Government wants to change the context and conditions to ensure the Lisbon treaty is ratified. We all accept this is in the national interest. It is not about simply shuttling around Europe trying to get agreement on certain issues. As Deputy Timmins pointed out, we already have clarity on various issues such as taxation and neutrality. The Maastricht and Amsterdam treaties and the Seville Declaration after the first Nice treaty referendum result have stated the EU position on Ireland's neutrality. We need a more radical and fundamental approach. The Minister should take on board on some of Deputy Kenny's points. It is not just about reaching agreement at EU level about our neutrality but examining the incorporation of safeguards in the Constitution. We must also examine safeguarding the personal rights enshrined in Articles 40 to 44, inclusive. The sub-committee's report referred to this and it merits further consideration. Declarations — window-dressing — are not adequate in their own right. If the Government is delusional enough to think so, I am fearful, as a committed and passionate European, that a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty will go the same way as the first.

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