Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1. To ask the Taoiseach if he has asked for items to be included for discussion at the next European Council meeting or the informal meeting of the 27 leaders to be held alongside it on Brexit. [38619/16]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

2. To ask the Taoiseach if he has spoken or written to the Italian Prime Minister since the referendum result in Italy on 4 December 2016. [39412/16]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

3. To ask the Taoiseach the contact he has had with the Italian Prime Minister, Mr. Renzi, since he announced his intention to resign on 4 December 2016. [39708/16]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

4. To ask the Taoiseach the items he has sought to have included on the agenda of the next meeting of the European Council or the next informal meeting of the EU 27 Heads of State and Government. [39816/16]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together.

As I will be outlining in my statement to the House later this afternoon, the next meeting of the European Council will take place tomorrow when EU leaders will discuss migration, security, economic and social development, including youth, and external relations.

The discussions on migration will include an update on the EU-Turkey deal, signed in March, along with a consideration of the migration compacts with five African countries, the progress achieved on the European Fund for Sustainable Development, and the European Investment Bank, EIB, external lending mandate. There is also likely to be an exchange on the future common European asylum system.

On security, there will be review of a number of measures, including the passenger name record, PNR, directive, database checks, and the European travel information and authorisation system, ETIAS. We will also consider the implementation of the EU global strategy, the European defence action plan, and EU-NATO co-operation.

Under economic and social development and youth, we will discuss the legislative proposals to extend the European Fund for Strategic Investment which were agreed recently by finance Ministers.

On particular Irish interests, we have highlighted the importance of pressing ahead on key Single Market initiatives, particularly in the area of services and the digital Single Market. I am sending a letter to President Tusk on this matter and have co-ordinated the support of a number of other member states to ensure a sufficient level of ambition is maintained by the Commission in setting out its plans across these initiatives.

Under external relations, political developments in Syria and the appalling humanitarian situation there will be discussed, and there will also be an exchange on how best to address the outcome of the Dutch referendum on the EU-Ukraine agreement.

The meeting of the European Council is expected to conclude in the early evening. Leaders of the 27 member states, that is, not including the UK, will then meet where there will be a discussion on the mechanics of the EU negotiations with the UK which will commence once Article 50 has been triggered. Under the close political guidance of the European Council, that is, Heads of State and Government, the Commission will lead the technical negotiations, with the European Parliament also playing an important role.

At the dinner tomorrow, there is also likely to be an exchange of views about the Bratislava process on the future of Europe and the meetings planned for Valletta and Rome in early 2017. I will, of course, provide further details on both meetings in my regular statement to the House this afternoon.

At this time, I have no specific plans for bilateral meetings at the European Council, although I will meet and engage with other EU leaders there. I wrote to the former Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, this week to wish him well as he leaves office following the Italian referendum on 4 December. I will send a note to his successor, Paolo Gentiloni, as soon as he takes on his new role.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will call Members in the order in which they tabled their questions.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I asked the Taoiseach specifically whether he had tabled any matter to be put on either the agenda of the formal Council or the agenda of the informal discussion.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yes, the digital Single Market.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Are the letters he has written agenda items? I am interested in the Taoiseach's view on the second of the proposed meetings, that is, the one without the United Kingdom. Court proceedings have begun in this jurisdiction challenging the legality of the exclusion of the United Kingdom from the Council. The UK is a full member of the European Union and pending at least the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, the contention is - and it is a matter that will be determined by our courts - that there is no legal basis to exclude the United Kingdom from these considerations. The allegation in the stated case in the legal proceedings is that Ireland colluded with others to exclude the UK. Has the Taoiseach received legal advice on the legality of such a gathering, or is it an entirely informal arrangement?

Will the Taoiseach indicate whether he has a view on another issue, namely, once Article 50 is triggered or invoked, can it be revoked by a member state? Has he received legal advice in respect of this matter or has the EU Council Legal Service has provided advice on it? There appears to be no clarity on that matter.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We cannot deal with every issue but I wish to raise the appalling atrocities in Aleppo and the Russian involvement in that. The people of Syria wish to live in their own communities in peace and freedom, but what they have gone through in recent years has been unspeakable. It is, without question, the worst crisis for a population since the Second World War. It is extremely important that one sees a sense of urgency from the European leadership at the European Council meeting about the crisis and the role of Russia in Aleppo. What is taking place is incomprehensible. It is also instructive that Russia is seeking to withdraw from the International Criminal Court. The sole reason, of course, is to avoid being accountable to the only international body capable of holding people responsible for war crimes. The blanket bombing of hospitals and humanitarian convoys and the extraordinary scenes this morning of children being brought out by their parents and families, one of the children with an intravenous, IV, drip still attached, are harrowing, and there is a sense that the world is turning a blind eye. There is a horrible sense of people not engaging with that reality, which will involve tough decisions.

There is pressure in Europe to lift the sanctions on Russia, and we must resist that. What Russia did in Ukraine was wrong and if we start a policy of appeasement, acceptance or acquiescence, the parallels with the 1930s will be very obvious. In recent years, Russia has placed a great deal of emphasis on destabilising or undermining democracies and public faith in democratic systems. I am not just talking about the American election. Russia has close ties to the neo-Nazi Jobbik party in Hungary, the Freedom Party of Austria and, even worse, the Golden Dawn party in Greece. It has provided an acknowledged loan of approximately €9 million to support the Front National party in France, and Nigel Farage has long played a starring role in the Russian state-controlled media. On the far left, there are people who are directly linked with Russia, including the communist parties in the European Parliament, such as in Sinn Féin's European Parliament group, while-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

How are they linked to Russia?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----many more politicians are fellow travellers. What has been striking is the marked reluctance to condemn Russia for anything on the part of those on the far left, in this House and across Europe. There is an incredible double standard. There has been more condemnation of Donald Trump in this House than there has been of Russia-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is true.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----for what is taking place in Aleppo, and the man has not even taken office yet. This provides an illustration of the situation.

At European level there is a need to be very clear about where we stand on war crimes, irrespective of who commits them, and on the annexation of territories and the violation of national sovereignty.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

There are only six minutes left.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have a question about the recent political changes in Italy and the European People's Party, EPP, the group in the European structures of which the Taoiseach is a prominent member. Does the Taoiseach regret the very hard line the EPP has pushed not just in countries such as Ireland but also in Italy? Italy is one of the largest economies in the European Union. The efforts of its previous government to create a situation where, for example, it could avail of Mr. Juncker's plan to have a public investment programme basically foundered on the rocks of EPP intransigence, and particularly the intransigent attitude of Chancellor Merkel and the German Minister of Finance, Mr. Schäuble. Now Italy, one of the core European countries, is facing an unknown future of populist politics. We have seen what happened with Mr. Trump in the United States and with other issues in different countries. The Taoiseach is a prominent member of the EPP and is one of the longest-surviving Prime Ministers in that group. However, the EPP appears to be hell-bent on destroying the concept of a European Union based on solidarity, economic progress and supporting countries when they encounter difficulties. Has he had discussions on the future of the three large and prominent Italian banks, which are now in dire circumstances? There are issues with the bail-in. Unlike the debates in this House previously, the slogan now from many of the ultras is to save the bondholders, particularly the junior bondholders, because so many of them are ordinary Italian savers. The Taoiseach will attend the summit tomorrow. Christmas is coming and most people feel reflective at this time of the year. Is the European Union going to survive what the leadership of the EPP has done to the Union in general?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. Previously, I have raised with the Ceann Comhairle the way we do these questions. I will spend a moment on this, if I may.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Perhaps the Deputy should raise it after puts his question to the Taoiseach. Is it about the method?

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Yes.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Taoiseach will have two minutes to reply after the Deputy asks his question.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is the point I am trying to make.

Four questions are being taken together. When the Taoiseach's contribution is included, it means that we have two minutes each. That does not work. I appreciate that this new way of doing business means we are dealing with topical issues but we do not have sufficient time to listen to the Taoiseach's response because he does not have sufficient time to deliver it or to elaborate on issues.

In moving on to my questions, I ask the Leas-Cheann Comhairle to be indulgent with me. We will be having pre-European Council meeting statements later. Llike the Taoiseach, I want to raise a few issues at the next European Council meeting, the first of which is the case of Ibrahim Halawa. Yesterday was Mr. Halawa's 21st birthday. We should send very hearty belated birthday solidarity greetings to him, lá breithe shona duit. Yesterday was the 17th time his trial has been postponed. I know the Ceann Comhairle is leading a delegation, of which we will be a part, and we support that. However, I note the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has written to the Egyptian President to express his concern about the case. I ask the Taoiseach not only to raise it at the Council meeting but to seek in advance the support of other EU Heads of State to ensure Ibrahim's release.

The situation in Syria in general and in Aleppo is shameful. It is desperate to sit watching this on our television screens in our living rooms. The claim by the Russian enjoy to the UN that no one is going to harm the civilians is incredible. It is unbelievable. This siege has been a shameful episode in international politics and we should be firm in our opposition to all the forces, the Russians, the French and the Americans. Any forces that are operating there should not be doing so. We need a political solution. I again ask the Taoiseach to raise this issue. There is an opportunity to do something positive in the middle of all the horror.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy that this is not satisfactory. The Taoiseach has half a minute to respond. It is a matter that perhaps the Deputy's representative and others could raise at the Business Committee-----

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

We have done that.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

-----as we enter the new session. Can the Taoiseach condense his response to the Deputies into one minute?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy Howlin raised the question of what is on the agenda of the Council meeting. I submitted the letter in respect of the digital single market, which has been going on now for 30 years, and with which we need to deal. On the question of whether the EU-27 member states can meet legally, it is not the European Council that is meeting, rather it is 27 members of the European Council. The 27 are meeting informally and not as the European Council of 28 members because Britain is still a full member until it leaves.

I agree with Deputy Micheál Martin that what is happening in Aleppo is savagery beyond contemplation. I am not sure, given all the discussions we have had at European Council meetings all over the world, in Geneva and everywhere else, whether the issue here relates to whether the United Nations, as a world body, should be reformed and perhaps given greater influence to intervene. This is a complex operation in the context of Russia being supported by Iran and Hezbollah supporting Assad. Aleppo has been the scene of humanitarian crimes and war crimes, and I strongly believe we should and will prosecute where possible in that regard.

Deputy Burton made an extraordinary assertion that because the European People's Party took a very strong line, Italy decided to vote against a referendum on the Senate. That was a constitutional issue, not a verdict on the European Union. While I am very much acquainted with the former Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, and supported him on many of his issues, clearly, there were other reasons the Italian electorate decided to vote down the referendum. Mr. Gentiloni comes from the same stock as Matteo Renzi and has set out to place a very steady hand on the tiller. I would point out to the Deputy that in Austria the people - at the second attempt - voted for an independent Green candidate, that the Government of the Netherlands lost a vote on a referendum on Ukraine, that Spain had two elections before it could form a government and that Britain has its own result on Brexit, which I respect. Therefore, the Deputy cannot say that the European People's Party is responsible for the demise of Italy. I would be the first to say that in terms of the recession that occurred in the European Union, the European Central Bank might have acted differently in the context of what happened in America. However, we have moved from that point to where we are now.

Deputy Adams commented on matters that I support in the context of the horrific scenes we have seen in Aleppo, with men, women and children being butchered in a savage fashion in 2016. It is appalling.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his co-operation. We will move on to the next group of questions. I understand the Taoiseach is taking Questions Nos. 5 to 16, inclusive, together.