Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

We are dealing with questions arising from the summit meeting which took place last week. Like Deputy Kenny, I attended a meeting of the leaders of the labour and social democratic parties, which was held in advance of the summit meeting. I am very much aware that the conclusions which were reached at the summit meeting last Thursday were by no means a done deal and that there were significant difficulties in securing agreement and, in particular, securing agreement to have the legal guarantees attached as a protocol to a future treaty.

I hope the contributions I and the Labour Party made in our dealings with the leaderships of some of our sister labour and social democratic parties in other states were helpful to the Taoiseach in securing the agreement reached at the summit. I was very happy to do that because there are occasions when we have to put the country first and when issues of party political advantage, and the opportunism that sometimes goes with that, have to be set aside in the wider and better interests of the country. That was one of those occasions.

I welcome the outcome of the summit. The Labour Party takes the view that the Lisbon treaty, as it was presented, did not compromise our neutrality or tax position and did not override our Constitution in certain respects, and that is why we supported it last June. The legal guarantees which have been secured put beyond any doubt the concerns many people expressed during the course of the referendum. I am glad the issues have been put beyond doubt and will be enshrined in protocols. I also acknowledge that the agreement reached, namely, that if the Lisbon treaty is ratified each member state will have the right to nominate a Commissioner, is a significant change to what was before the people last June.

I have a number of issues arising from the agreement I want to pursue with the Taoiseach. In respect of the declaration on workers' rights, the Labour Party is very keen that those declarations and the commitments in the area of workers' rights, including those that are provided for in the Charter of Fundamental Rights, are given legislative effect in this State. What is the Government's position now in respect of the commitments given to introduce legislation arising from the social partnership agreement, Towards 2016, and the subsequent amendment of that, and on giving legislative effect to the principles set down in the Charter of Fundamental Rights?

Another issue I want to raise with the Taoiseach is the appointment of the President of the Commission. As I understand it, the summit agreed to nominate the outgoing President, Mr. Barroso, for a further five-year term and it is intended that the nomination be put before the European Parliament for approval at its July meeting. The Taoiseach will be aware that the political family to which the Labour Party belongs in Europe is seriously concerned about that process. We are concerned about the neo-liberal agenda perused by President Barroso in his outgoing five-year term and our wish is for that agenda to be at least amended.

There is a proposal, which I am sure the Taoiseach is aware of, that President Barroso meet with the respective groupings in the European Parliament, in particular the party of European socialists, to outline his proposed agenda for the next five years and that the Parliament would be given sufficient time to consider President Barroso's agenda and that the process of his appointment would not be rushed at the July meeting. Does the Taoiseach support that more considered approach to the reappointment of President Barroso, rather than what appeared to be coming from the summit, which was a very rushed approach towards his reappointment?

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