In this debate, much has been said about voting weights within the Council of Ministers. The arguments advanced by those advocating a "No" vote simply do not stand up. It is true that the votes in the Council are being adjusted. In the first instance, this is necessary because of the influx of new member states. Second, it was agreed in Amsterdam that voting rights would be looked at in the context of the larger states surrendering their second Commissioner. However, the minor adjustment adjustments in the voting rights in the Council of Ministers are no threat to Ireland. Anybody who takes the time and trouble to read the handbook which was distributed recently will quickly realise that the small member states have gained immeasurably from each enlargement and that any dominance which may have existed ab initio has been eroded on each occasion. When the Treaty of Rome was enacted, there were six states, of which three were large and three were small. When we have 27 member states, six of them will be large and 21 will be small. How can that be anything other than in the interests of the smaller member states? Contrary to the impression which has been deliberately created by some on the "No" side, qualified majority voting is nothing new and we certainly have no reason to fear it. There is absolutely no example of the big states ganging up on the little states in the European Union. It has never happened. It is a myth existing only in the minds of some people who have been crying in the wilderness for the past 30 years.