Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The European Council meeting on 29 April is one of the most important such meetings that any Taoiseach will have attended. The fact that Members of this House will not have pre-statements before the Council meeting, which has been standard practice, is an affront. The Taoiseach talks about democracy but this is an affront to democracy. Those statements need to take place on Thursday. Yesterday I presented the Taoiseach with a letter from Deputy Gerry Adams which included our motion.

We have now seen the European Council's draft guidelines, so it is clear to us that whatever initiatives were involved from the Irish Government they have failed. The Taoiseach has failed to secure a veto or the position of this Dáil which is to have a special, designated status within the EU for the North of Ireland. It is of the utmost importance that we should have that discussion so that the Taoiseach is better informed before he goes to that Council meeting about the views of this Parliament in terms of the negotiating stance he has to take.

Will the Taoiseach confirm that we will have pre-European Council statements, as we have had for every single European Council meeting heretofore? We all agree that this is the most important such meeting the Taoiseach will have attended during his time as Taoiseach.

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