Don Lydon (Fianna Fail)

If we had the same God, he was on all sides. It should be possible to agree on a wording.

I got a booklet from the Department of Foreign Affairs which states that the protocols would be considered at the Intergovernmental Conference, one of which protects Article 43.3 of the Constitution. Will the Minister of State clarify whether this will be considered or included? I see a great difficulty with future referenda if this is not included.

Regarding the common defence policy, under the draft constitutional treaty an armaments research and military capability agency will be set up, which will be open to all members wishing to be part of it. We need to look at ourselves in this regard and get off the fence. I know we have to hold a referendum on this issue, but we should have a debate on defence. We are part of a union of peoples and we agreed to come to each other's defence if we are in trouble. That is not just in the case of war but in the event of terrorist attacks, natural disasters or man-made disasters. We cannot have it both ways. We cannot hope to have people help us when we need it if we are not ready to help them. There are great fears in the country, with people saying they do not want their sons in European armies, but people have no fears about joining our army and a European army will be no different.