Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What strikes me is Deputy Martin's claim that we do not outline what the Irish interest is, while the Deputy says we do. In the pre-Council discussions that we have here we say what we want to achieve, and in Dáil debates such as this we then say where we stand on it. If there is an opportunity to go into that in more detail at a committee meeting, I would be more than happy to.

We believe it is still very much in the interests of the Irish and European economies that the TTIP negotiations be progressed. There will be a significant gain for our economy and the European economy more broadly if those discussions yield an agreement in a few years' time. The last set of negotiations was due to take place in October, as Deputies may be aware, but they had to be deferred due to the difficulties in America. We believe the potential dividend of that agreement is of such importance to our country and other countries that it should be advanced, and I look forward to seeing that happen.

Will there be new funding to deal with the digital divide? One agreement made at the Council was that the European Structural Investment Funds, which will be in place between 2014 and 2020 and is one part of the overall package of the multi-annual financial framework - which, as Deputies know, is the multi-year budget for the European Union - will be used for ICT education and developing digital skills.

Regarding the banking union, I refer to conclusions Nos. 41 and 44 of the meeting, which I mentioned to Deputy Dooley earlier. These lay out where the process stands. There will be another set of negotiations between finance Ministers in the second half of November and early December, and the issue will then go back to the European Council. It is clear that a robust and well-functioning banking union is in our own interests and also in the broader interests of Europe.

Time does not allow me to go into any great detail in building on what the Taoiseach has said, but I will make three brief comments. I believe the conclusions will make a material difference to our ability to develop the digital economy. This is a sector that is growing at six to seven times the speed of other parts of our economy. The conclusions on banking union show the continued commitment of the Government to ensuring that commitments already made will be upheld and delivered. What I am certain about, having attended the meeting, is that there is a continued sense of urgency in dealing with the difficulties Europe has, particularly with regard to unemployment. It is fair to say that the feeling of acute panic and crisis that characterised previous Council meetings has passed, but the commitment to dealing with the difficulties we have discussed here is not diluted in any way. I look forward to giving an update to the House and to the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs on the next Council meeting in December.

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