Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I thank the Acting Chairman. I want to ask a number of questions together rather than seek a second intervention. The first is on the possibility of a treaty amendment. I am mindful of comments made by people like Deputy Ó Snodaigh in respect of these matters, given that we had a great deal of debate on the simplified amendment procedure that we incorporated into the Lisbon treaty. We gave clear assurances that the procedure was for technical amendments, not substantive treaty amendments. The false counterargument made was that the treaty could be amended without reference to the people. What are the Minister of State's views on this matter? Is a technical amendment or a full-scale opening of the treaty, which would probably mean a convention and everything else, at stake? I do not want to give cover to people to misrepresent something. We need to nail this from the beginning.

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