John Dardis (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome President Cox. It is a particular pleasure for a party that is a member of the liberal group that it is a person from that group who is the President of the Parliament. Transcending that, we also acknowledge that it is an Irishman who is here today and that many Irish people hold senior positions. Apart from the aspects the President spoke about in terms of the achievements with regard to peace, social policy and so on, membership of the Union has also probably helped us to release qualities in us that we did not know we had, our Irish qualities that were perhaps suppressed for many years and are now fully expressed.

I have a question relating to an article in one of this morning's newspapers with regard to a suggested "plan B" in the event of the Irish people rejecting the treaty. It would be a total subversion of democracy if the Parliament, which is the product of the people, were to decide that the will of the people should not be adhered to in the unhappy event that such might be the case. The President might comment on the genesis of that article and his views as to its consequences.