Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for affording me some of his time. I wish both him and the Taoiseach well in their endeavours during the week. I recognise the work done in recent months in dealing with other administrations and member states. There is an understanding emerging that this is an easy effort and that the two lads only need to show up to get what they want. In particular, there is the notion that all member states will have a Commissioner. My understanding is that that is far from the case and that anything that will be achieved in any areas in which we have sought to try to find a compromise will be hard fought for and may not be achieved in the short term. We must bear this in mind in view of the consensus emerging.

I recognise the tremendous efforts made by the Chairman, Senator Donohoe, the secretariat and members to produce the report on time. I was delighted to be a member of the sub-committee. It was important for us to understand that the decision of the people on 12 June had to be accepted and respected. It was right for the Oireachtas to assess the impact of that decision and try to understand why the majority of people had voted "No". It was necessary to delve deeper into the reasons for the "No" vote, particularly because the Eurobarometer and Millward Brown research suggested Irish people wanted to remain at the heart of the European Union or, as I see it, the inside track. It was necessary to understand why they had made their decision.

The report sought to establish if the wish of the people to have Ireland remain to the fore in the European Union was compatible with the rejection of the reform process the Lisbon treaty had sought to deliver. At the end of our deliberations over a period of seven weeks, the answer was an emphatic no, that it was not compatible and that it would not be possible to remain at the heart of the European Union if we refused to accept the reform process as set out. It was well established that the result of our rejection of the Lisbon treaty had affected our influence in the Union. The "No" vote inhibits Ireland's ability to promote and defend its national interests and affects its ability to influence key upcoming decisions on climate change.

We recognise the difficulties we will have in setting up a farm package through reform of the agri-budget beyond 2013. In the past couple of days I was heartened to hear the comment of Dr. Patrick Wall, chairman of the management board of the European Food Safety Authority, that the "No" vote in the Lisbon treaty referendum had had an impact on the work being done, particularly when German colleagues had questioned him on the reasons the Irish people would want to be congratulated by the neo-Nazis on the way they had voted.

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