Derek McDowell (Labour)

I join other Senators in welcoming the Taoiseach to the House. It is good of him to take time out from his busy schedule to attend the House and share his thoughts on these important issues.

Like others, I appreciate the importance of the next six months particularly in the context of enlargement. It is remarkable that only ten years ago many of the accession states to the Union did not exist. The constitution for Europe is an issue that has been discussed in the House on a number of occasions. The Taoiseach hit the right note when he said that if the opportunity is there, we should take it. However, it is important not to engender a false sense of crisis. There will be no crisis if it is not agreed in the next six months. It is more important to get a good deal rather than just a deal. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that the arrangements made in Nice are not satisfactory; they are something of a mess. It is important that these are revised at the earliest opportunity. However, it is equally important that they are not replaced by another mess. Whatever is put in place must be sustainable for the next ten or 15 years. It is a matter of festina lente - if the opportunity is there, take it. Let us not suggest now that it is a crisis if we do not deliver an agreement in the next six months.

I am not in sympathy with what is being said about a two-speed Europe. Somebody must speak up on behalf of the President of the European Commission, Mr. Prodi. There is already a two-speed Europe to all intents and purposes. Several important countries, including the United Kingdom, are not members of the euro zone. Ireland is not part of the Schengen Agreement and, therefore, does not share the common immigration rules that are in place in those agreement states. Ireland is also not part of NATO, whereas most EU member states are and have obligations that go with membership. On common foreign and security policy and the single currency, there are already different speeds.

It is important that we maintain some sense of vision and progress within the European project. States that want to share particular competencies, pool sovereignty for particular projects and go further than others are willing should not be obliged to proceed at the speed of the slowest and most laggardly member state. It is wrong to allow several states that are not willing to share sovereignty and progress to slow every other member state to the extent that all momentum is lost in a project where momentum is important. For the foreseeable future, with 25 member states, it is inevitable and right that member states that wish to further projects quickly should be allowed to do so. This right should be recognised rather than treated as an issue to be feared.

The Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, have referred to the Lisbon agenda as one of the priorities of the Presidency, to which no one can take particular exception. I have read the conclusions of the agenda and they have a motherhood and apple pie element to them. No one can object to improved e-commerce, information technology and more support for research and so forth. Ultimately, these matters need to be progressed by individual member states' governments. The European Commission and the Council can only play a limited role in progressing those issues. I wish the Government well in highlighting those important issues. However, I am sceptical of the process because it requires political will on the ground from member states' governments to progress matters in a meaningful way.

The Taoiseach, as well as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, referred to relations with the United States. There is a suggestion that because Ireland is somewhere between Berlin and Boston, we can use our good offices to improve relations between the EU and the Bush White House. I am sceptical about this suggestion because I believe that the Bush White House is wrong on many issues and I hope President Bush is not around this time next year. While it is well for us to say that we will look to smoothing the way across the Atlantic, we should do so from a perspective which still puts our own viewpoints to the fore. We still support the UN, multilateralism and international co-operation on issues such as environmental protection. We should not dilute those principles to make the last year of President Bush's reign in the White House any easier. By all means, use our good relations with the US, but do not compromise our principles which we share with other EU member states.

The Cyprus issue falls clean in the middle of the Irish Presidency and it is one on which we could achieve progress. There has been progress in the last four weeks with the positive development of the appointment of Mr. Talat as chief negotiator on the Turkish-Cypriot side. The appointment will test the Greek-Cypriot and Mr. Papadopoulos's commitment to the process. I understand that the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, was involved with Kofi Annan yesterday in Brussels in trying to get the talks on Cyprus going again. I urge the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to give priority to this issue as it will stand or fall in the next six to eight weeks. It deserves a political commitment from the Irish Presidency and the EU. It would be a significant achievement if 30 years of division on Cyprus could be brought to an end during the period of the Irish Presidency. It will not fail for lack of energy or commitment on our part.

Ireland is uniquely situated in dealing with African issues. When it comes to political engagement, the involvement of the EU is always associated with the former colonial powers. This does not apply to Ireland, which allows us to be better positioned to engage politically in Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe, in a way that would be difficult for other member states with a colonial past. The Minister for Foreign Affairs visited southern Africa before Christmas. Ireland should bring its influence to bear during the Presidency to work with President Mbeki in South Africa, neighbouring states and Robert Mugabe to ensure that there is a move to genuine democracy in Zimbabwe. We should engage politically, as we have militarily in Liberia, in countries such as Kenya that are making efforts to move away from autocracy and single party government.

The Taoiseach hit the right note on Northern Ireland issues. It is important to say that we are satisfied with the Agreement. It is also important to say that one party cannot cherry pick the parts of the Agreement it wants. It is clear that some parties would be happy if the devolved institutions were not resurrected. Some parties would be happy if the North-South institutions were to continue and other agendas were progressed with or without devolution. The Agreement has various parts and was put together in the knowledge that they will all hang together. It is important that they are all implemented. I wish the Taoiseach well in his talks with Dr. Paisley in London later this afternoon.