In response to Senator Ross, I refer to the recent comments of the chief executive of General Electric in Europe, who said his company would have a slightly more negative view of Ireland if it seemed that we were psychologically disconnecting from our winning formula. In a speech to the Dáil on 4 September last the Minister for Finance referred to a report of the Economist Intelligence Unit which stated another "No" vote against the Nice treaty, regardless of the detail of the treaty and the motives of individual voters, would send the message that Ireland was pulling back from Europe. The EIU stated such a move in a country that was "a strategic and certain ally" would be bad news for Ireland.