Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Earlier this week and last week the Taoiseach seemed very eager to attend the summit with a very clear commitment to Ireland joining the EU permanent structured co-operation defence group, PESCO, notwithstanding the context where there was very little time to hold any kind of detailed discussion in Ireland. While almost everybody is in favour of our Army joining international peacekeeping missions such as those in Chad or our Naval Service in the Mediterranean Sea, Fine Gael obviously has rather ambivalent feelings about neutrality. Unlike many other countries that have positions of neutrality, in the run-up to this meeting the Taoiseach seemed awfully anxious actually to sign up in full rather than express in detail the reservations that people in Ireland are entitled to discuss and consider as they come to know more about it. Does the Taoiseach see it as a particular advantage in respect of his communication and presentation of himself as Taoiseach, which is obviously very important to him, that he should go to tomorrow's meeting having rushed through in the last days before Christmas and without adequate discussion the arrangements and commitment to PESCO by the Taoiseach and his Government?

With regard to the statement made by Michel Barnier that Ireland will be subject to a special negotiating path in the Brexit negotiations, will the Taoiseach outline what this implies strategically? Recently the Taoiseach said that Irish negotiators and advisers would be in the room next door to the Barnier team. I and others have commented that as Ireland gets down to the nitty gritty of very detailed provisions, regulations and laws in some wide areas, it will be necessary to have very experienced trade lawyers, for example, and people with particular skills in these types of negotiations. Has the Taoiseach planned for this so Ireland has the kinds of skill-sets we need to negotiate the best deal for Ireland?

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