Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I want to make it absolutely clear that as far as this Government is concerned there is, and will be, no dictation of policy by either one member state or a small number of them concerning issues that have to be decided at the European Council. This is a European Union of 27 member states and the decisions have to be arrived at on a collective basis. There is a very difficult situation and it is our view as a Government that that needs to be addressed urgently. The instability and market uncertainty about the euro and the concerns there have been about the single currency over a period of time, need to be addressed quickly. There are two aspects to addressing that. One is related to the kind of firewall that is put in place to ensure the protection of the euro. Second, there are issues relating to governance within the European Union that have to be addressed.

There is a Private Members' debate on this issue, which is commencing after the Order of Business. In my contribution, I will be setting out the Government's position more fully, including the approach we are taking to the meetings today and tomorrow.

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