Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I appreciate the contributions made by Deputies to this debate, even if I do not agree with all of the points made. The Government is committed to stepping up its engagement with the House on European matters. A healthy debate on such matters is in all our interests. I attended a lengthy and in-depth meeting of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs last Friday morning when I had a good exchange with colleagues from across the House, including some of the Members present for this debate. I was particularly pleased that some of our MEPs were in attendance in order that they could bring perspectives from Brussels and Strasbourg to bear on the discussion. The dialogue to which I refer is going to continue. The Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Lucinda Creighton, will, as has become customary prior to meetings of the General Affairs Council, address the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on Thursday. The Taoiseach will return to the House to brief Members again in the aftermath of next week's meeting. Let there be no doubt that the Government is serious about engaging in debate in the House on European matters.

The informal meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Monday will be an important event and mark a turning point. As a Government, we will be working to ensure an outcome that delivers for Ireland. What is good for the euro area and the European Union as a whole is in Ireland's interests. We want to restore credibility and confidence in the eurozone. That is the job at hand. An agreement at the summit should lend stability to a volatile situation. That would be a good outcome for this country. We will be striving for a balanced outcome that marks significant progress on the two major issues on the table. I hope it will be possible to finalise work on the intergovernmental treaty and thereby further strengthen economic policy co-ordination within the euro area. Let us be clear, however, that the treaty is not an end in itself, it is a key element of a larger package of actions designed to respond to the sovereign debt crisis. We have already accepted, with our European partners, the wide range of measures needed in order to respond to the crisis. In terms of severity and duration, the current crisis is unparalleled since the establishment of the European Union. The response has also been unparalleled, even if not always perfect. Next week we will have the opportunity to take a positive step in addressing the crisis.

The treaty represents one critical piece of the jigsaw. However, I am also extremely keen to see delivery on the growth agenda at European level. Every Irishman and woman has a vested interest in next week's summit making real and concrete progress in that regard. These two elements - strengthened economic policy co-ordination and the pursuit of job creation and growth - are complementary and mutually reinforcing and we will be pursuing them in parallel. As the Taoiseach noted, negotiations on the draft intergovernmental treaty are moving in the right direction. That is welcome, but this remains a fluid process. As no agreement on a draft text has yet been reached, we will remain fully engaged with partners to ensure our issues of particular concern will be resolved in a satisfactory manner. Just this morning another negotiating session on the draft treaty has been convened for Friday. Our team of senior officials will once again fight our corner and promote our interests.

At the same time and in the context of the broader growth agenda, together with five other like-minded partners - Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Estonia - we have submitted papers to the President of the European Council identifying priority issues to drive forward the growth agenda. Next week's meeting presents us with a good opportunity to place a spotlight on the remaining potential to complete the Single Market, including through the development of the digital Single Market. This is a complex area, embracing everything from intellectual property to consumer rights. However, it offers real potential, particularly for a small member state interested in new business models and trading more extensively with partners.

Concurrently, we want the European Union to support the engine of industry, innovation and job creation, namely, the small and medium enterprise sector. We must work together to reduce the administrative burdens that hold SMEs back and ensure they have sufficient access to funding. We also want to come together to tackle unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, and see if programmes and processes are targeted and focused as they should be.

The Government believes there is an opportunity to prioritise and drive forward those initiatives which best advance Irish interests and fit most closely our national strategies for growth and economic recovery. We want to see full alignment between what we are doing at national and European levels. The Cabinet sub-committee on European affairs is advancing this important work, including through examining how the programme for Government dovetails with priorities at EU level. There are clear overlaps, whether through promoting energy efficiency - achieving green growth is a real target - the digital Single Market or strategies for job creation. Our post-crisis recovery is being supported by a rebalancing of economic activity towards sustainable, export-led growth. This must include Irish companies unlocking the full potential of Europe's dynamic market of 500 million consumers.

The discussion next Monday will not just be about the intergovernmental treaty. It will also be a discussion about job creation and growth. We have to combine these two tracks. The treaty will not bring about recovery. There has to be a strategy for job creation and growth as part of the European agenda.

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