Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I take the point the Deputy makes but I assure him it is long-standing practice that we publish our proposal much closer to the Presidency. That is done for a variety of reasons, including the fact that we need to see where the legislative agenda in the European Commission is at at that stage.

Let me say this. We will want to do a number of things but crucially, we will want to be efficient and effective at progressing the legislative priorities that are set out at a European level at that stage.

We will want to put a focus on issues that matter here in Ireland, such as agriculture, the Common Agricultural Policy and where that would be at during that stage and playing an important role in competitiveness and economic priorities. Of course, for all of the reasons we have discussed, so much of Europe's bandwidth has been focused, quite correctly, on defence and security, which I understand. We also need to carve out space around competitiveness, jobs and investment because that in and of itself is an issue in terms of the security of the Union, economic security and well-being. The Deputy can expect a focus on agriculture and the economy. It is early. We will come back to the Deputy closer to the time. We welcome his thoughts.

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