Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I do not want to disrupt or delay the Order of Business but I strongly support my colleague, Deputy Michael D. Higgins, on this issue on the grounds he has raised. I will not go over them again. It is particularly important in the aftermath of the Lisbon treaty that national parliaments such as ours are seen to be playing the role intended for them in the European sphere, in particular with regard to the relationship between the member states of the European Union and other countries, such as those on the African continent.

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