Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 30, inclusive, together.

With regard to bilateral meetings I have held with foreign leaders since the summer recess, I met with President Yanukovych of the Ukraine, Prime Minister Rutte of the Netherlands, Chancellor Faymann of Austria, Prime Minister Filat of Moldova, President Saakashvilli of Georgia and Prime Minister Katainen of Finland at the Eastern Partnership Summit in Warsaw on 29 and 30 September. On 16 October I met the President of the European Commission, Mr. José Manuel Barroso in Brussels and I attended the European Council and European summit meetings on 23 and 26 October, where I had extensive contacts with many of my colleagues.

I travelled to Berlin on 16 November for a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Merkel. Our meeting, over a working lunch, was an excellent opportunity to engage with a key European partner on the challenges facing Europe ahead of the December European Council meeting. I updated the Chancellor on developments in the Irish economy and I outlined for her the extent of the adjustment under way and what this means for the Irish people. I stressed the urgent need to restore stability, generate growth and get people back to work. I told the Chancellor that addressing unemployment is a key concern for the Government. I underlined that although Ireland is making headway, we still need the ongoing support of EU partners and of Germany. In this regard, I sought support for finding ways to reduce the significant burden of debt the country is carrying, a large part of which results from the steps we have taken to secure the position of our banks and to prevent contagion to the wider European banking system. I emphasised that Ireland remains vulnerable to volatility in the euro area and that we urgently need to restore stability.

The Chancellor and I had a good and comprehensive exchange of views on how best to demonstrate that the euro area has the capacity and commitment to stand behind its currency. I made the point that allowing the ECB play a stronger role, acting as the ultimate backstop in defending the euro, might be a necessary part of a solution. Germany has its own position on the role of the ECB and the Chancellor set this out clearly. The Chancellor and I also looked ahead to the December European Council, and to President Van Rompuy's report on options to strengthen the economic union.

We both agreed that there is a need to enhance co-ordination of economic policy in the euro area. On the issue of treaty change, I expressed the Irish Government's view that treaty change is a complex and difficult process and that there is considerable potential to improve arrangements within the existing treaties. That must be our first priority and we need a solution to the crisis facing us now.

The Chancellor and I also agreed that improved fiscal responsibility and budgetary discipline should generate confidence in the markets.

After my meeting with Chancellor Merkel, I addressed the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung on the theme of "Ireland's Road to Recovery: Reform, Growth and Jobs", where I also met the German finance Minister, Mr. Wolfgang Schauble. I then travelled to Frankfurt for a dinner with key German-Irish business contacts.

On future bilateral meetings, our embassy in Paris has been in close contact with the Élysée to find a mutually suitable date for a meeting with President Sarkozy. These efforts are continuing and I look forward to visiting Paris when arrangements have been put in place. I will again meet all of my colleagues at the European Council meeting on 9 December.

I look forward to meeting the new Prime Ministers of Greece and Italy at that meeting. I have written to each of them to offer my congratulations, and to express the Government's wish to continue our close co-operation. In advance of the December European Council, contacts with EU partners, including with President Van Rompuy and his office will continue to prepare for that meeting and its conclusions.

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