Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am pleased to be able to introduce this short Bill in the Seanad and to commend it to the House. It is not complicated legislation but it is important because it is a further step towards enabling Ireland to ratify the Treaty of Nice and allowing the historic process of enlargement of the European Union to proceed as planned. I will explain the contents of the Bill and why they are necessary, and then say a few words about the wider background to the legislation.

The decision to ratify the Treaty of Nice was taken by the people in an historic referendum on 19 October last. However, a few technical measures must legally be taken before the State can ratify the treaty. Passage of this legislation is one of those measures. A fundamental aspect of European Union law is that Community legislation has direct legal effect in each member state. This was recognised and allowed for in the original constitutional amendment enabling Ireland to join the European Economic Community, as it then was, in 1973. The European Communities Act, 1972, listed the treaties and other Acts which would have direct legal effect in the State, and allowed for further implementing regulations to be made by Ministers.

As the original communities have grown and developed through successive treaties, it has been necessary in each case to amend the European Communities Act accordingly to take account of each of these new treaties. On each previous occasion, before Ireland has ratified an EU treaty, it has through legislation made relevant provisions of the treaty part of the domestic law of the State so that at the time of ratification, it is fully able to discharge its obligations. That is the purpose of the legislation.

The Bill contains two sections and amends the 1972 Act. Section 1 is the principal operative part of the Bill. It adds the relevant provisions of the Treaty of Nice to the list of treaties and other instruments contained in the definition of the "treaties governing the European Communities" in Section 1(1) of the 1972 Act, as amended. These are Articles 1.15 and 2 to 10, together with annexed protocols. For ease of use, the 1972 Act, as amended, contains a table with a complete list of "treaties governing the European Communities". Section 1(2) of the Bill adds a reference to the Treaty of Nice to that table.

Section 2 contains normal provisions concerning the Short Title, collective citation, construction and commencement. It provides that the Act will come into operation on such day as may be appointed by order made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. That day will coincide with the entry into force of the Treaty of Nice.