Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps the Deputy asked his question twice because he did not hear what I said earlier. I said that Ireland has indicated that it would be willing to increase its direct contribution from its own resources. It will increase anyway because our GDP is increasing. We are willing to increase the percentage as long as the programmes we support continue to be well funded. We are willing to pay more into the budget as long as important programmes like the Common Agricultural Policy, Erasmus, Horizon and INTERREG are protected. We do not want to end up paying more into a budget only to see the programmes we find most valuable being cut back.

I was asked about the package for the four top jobs. It is anticipated that three or four of the major parties will come together to create a majority in the European Parliament. It has to be an absolute majority. We will have an absolute majority that does not require the support of parties like Fidesz that have been suspended. I am very conscious that the V4 nations - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic - tend to stick together at European Council level. Even though their Governments are in different groups - liberal, centre-right and socialist - they tend to stick together. Often, the dynamic is not just one of political groups as there can be regional groups too. They will stick together on these issues. It will be necessary for the European Council to vote by qualified majority on some positions.

Like everyone in this House, I am a little concerned about political developments in London at present. Theresa May was not a bad negotiator. She had a good team. I believe they got the best deal they could have got, given the limited leverage that a country leaving the EU has. It took two years to negotiate the withdrawal agreement. It is not perfect. It is a finely balanced compromise. Everyone had to give and take. Sadly, the House of Commons failed to ratify that agreement. I am a little concerned that some people in London seem to think the failure of the House of Commons to ratify the agreement automatically means they will get a better agreement. That is a terrible political miscalculation. I hope it is not the one that is being made across the water. They made some miscalculations along the way. After the UK decided to leave the EU, they initially thought that Ireland would somehow fall into line and leave too. We did not leave and we are not leaving. Some of them thought that when push came to shove, Ireland would be abandoned and EU unity would break.

They were wrong about that. I hope they are not making a further political miscalculation, which is to think that the House of Commons, having failed to ratify the deal, will somehow get a better deal. That is to really misunderstand how the European Union works.

In terms of the wider future of Europe debate, we have had a detailed public consultation, led by the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy McEntee, with meetings held all over the country and a lot of people engaging. A few months ago we issued a Government statement on the future of Europe that sets out our vision for how the EU should grow and develop in the coming years. If we have not had one yet, a Dáil debate-----

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