John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

That will not end at the conclusion of his presidency, it will continue when Cork is the European capital of culture in 2005. Hopefully, we will be able to educate the President even more. I will not mention the school of music although I would welcome any help on this. Could the President advise us?

President Cox has covered many issues in his challenging address. When preparing questions, it is advisable to have one or two questions ready in case they are covered. As usual, in the case of President Cox, one would have to have seven or eight questions ready as he covers so many different topics.

The challenges before us, in the lead up to our presidency, are issues we have highlighted in this House over recent weeks. We have continually referred to the six months ahead and the challenges that face us. The President of the European Parliament has come here and not only set challenges for us, he has set challenges for the Government that we all feel should get a response. I have a particular interest in what President Cox had to say about the Middle East. This is one of the big issues facing the world today and the problems there have been going on for far too long. Hopefully, during our Presidency, we as a Government will be able to work with the President of the European Parliament in advancing his proposals to bring about some form of settlement and greater understanding there.

Some of the previous speakers have covered a number of issues to which I hope President Cox will return, particularly the Stability and Growth Pact.

On the issue of the triple-lock mechanism, this is an issue I highlighted in this House 12 months ago. I appreciate and understand the Government's position on the triple-lock mechanism, but it is flawed in the light of what happened in Macedonia.