Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The Government negotiates with other governments in the context of obtaining agreements. Normally it works with the member state which holds the Presidency, which then negotiates with the other member states.

On the domestic front, the Deputy made the point that there should be constant communication between the parties on a bipartisan level. Such communication will continue to be the norm. I am of the view that it may be useful to retain the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union, which produced a report prior to the Council meeting. Notwithstanding some of the reservations articulated earlier by the Deputy, the sub-committee operated as an extremely effective vehicle within the Oireachtas for facilitating a debate on issues relating to Ireland and the European Union, particularly in the aftermath of the Lisbon treaty referendum result.

The sub-committee may have an opportunity to continue its work. I have been working on this matter since July and when we established the sub-committee, Deputy Costello suggested that it should issue an interim report and that there should, perhaps, be a second phase to its work. That may be one possibility as to what might happen. I will consult with the Deputy and others in order to decide on what might be the best way to proceed. We must go about our work in an effective and efficient manner.

On workers' rights, it is important to again point out that we work with the other member states on the amendment of the EU's body of law on labour and that we draw up domestic legislation in respect of this matter. We ensured that the conclusions agreed last week contain an acceptance and confirmation in respect of the importance attached by European Union member states to the issue of workers' rights. That is a better outcome than we anticipated prior to the Council meeting. Our original presentation to the Presidency took the form of the attachment to the conclusions of an Irish text relating to this matter. Through a process of negotiation, however, we moved beyond that to a position where the undertakings to give legal guarantees to issues specific to Ireland — neutrality, tax and ethics — are contained in the conclusions, which are strong as a result. In addition, there is an attachment of high importance to the issue of workers' rights.

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