James Bannon (Fine Gael)

In the first referendum on the Nice treaty which was rejected by the Irish people, concerns were expressed about the role of the Oireachtas in regard to decisions taken by the Council of Ministers in Europe. At the time of the second referendum we were promised that the Oireachtas, particularly this House, would have a greater say in vetting legislation and directives coming from Europe. We are on the eve of another referendum on the constitution for Europe and people will not be conned a second time with regard to referenda. It is important that the Leader would inform us as to when this will happen, what has been done to date and if any arrangements have been put in place to properly resource this House with regard to vetting this legislation. We are not all lawyers and facilities need to be put in place to assist us in the scrutiny of EU legislation. I hope she will make a statement on this matter or arrange a debate on it.