Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

It took a long time to negotiate European treaties. They were very complex and legal, and there is a legal backup to them, which is the European Court of Justice. Stitched into the Lisbon treaty is an executive federalism where there is at least a sharing of competence across the Commission, the Parliament and the European Council. It seems we have jettisoned the things that are likely to give some level of certainty in favour of the supremacy of intergovernmentalism by way of this treaty. That is a very flawed process because it will put the economically strong countries centre-stage and will mean that the citizens of Germany will really be speaking on our behalf.

Does the Taoiseach have concerns about that legal arrangement? We can see the veto is of no value in this kind of a situation because, essentially, what happened was that a new arrangement was put in place rather than trying to operate within the existing structures.

Second, how are we supposed to reach the 60% of GDP deficit if the issue of debt will not be dealt with? The issue of sovereign debt is at the core of this.

Third, I have heard the Taoiseach state on several occasions, including in the briefing yesterday, that we are a programme country. That appears as though it is an apology and it comes across as though we are not an equal member. Where does the Taoiseach see us in terms of our position within the 27 members of the European Union and the 17 members of the eurozone?

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