Maurice Hayes (Independent)

This is something to which we should be bending our minds. We might have to make a trade-off between a strong Commission and a fully representative one. If that was the case, I think our interests are to be found in a strong Commission rather than otherwise. I am also interested in the Minister of State's pursuit of rules for good governance and administrative good behaviour. He will be aware that the Council of Europe has, in the past, produced such rules, which could be a good development.

I will be glad to hear what the Minister of State has to say about whether the Intergovernmental Conference should spill over into the Irish Presidency. I believe that it should do so. The Convention has carried out its work with a great deal of transparency, whereas the pattern in the past was for Intergovernmental Conferences to work in the opposite way. It would be an enormous pity if, having stirred up public interest to the extent that we have done, the Intergovernmental Conference should move the process behind some form of purdah. I hope the Intergovernmental Conference will not take the form of a series of meetings in smoke-filled rooms at late hours of the night, but that it will also present its discussions in a way in which the community can relate to them. That will be part of the crucial task of selling the outcome to the peoples of Europe.

I commend the Minister of State on his work. I have been hugely impressed by what a small Irish team, which has to cover the entire waterfront, has been doing with limited resources. The Minister of State deserves all the help and support that we can give him. We welcome this opportunity of hearing about his work and I hope we will hear more about it in the future.