Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

While not the format we had originally intended, we will just ask questions now. If anyone was in any way inconvenienced, I wish to apologise. However, it will not take away from this wonderful occasion. The President of the European Parliament, Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering MEP, is very welcome to Seanad Éireann. We are honoured by his presence today. We welcome him as someone who has shown unreserved commitment to co-operation and reconciliation among European peoples and states. We salute him as one of a very select group of Members of the European Parliament who have served since the first direct elections to the parliament in 1979. Like the president, I also am a September 1945 person, which gives us something in common.

The development of the European Union has seen a continent turn its back on an old nationalist way and through economic and political co-operation, consigned to history disastrous individualism. At its heart has been the determination of member states to act in unity for the benefit of all members. Ireland has been a member of the European Union for the past 32 years and the Union is now part and parcel of everyday life for this country. Ireland's membership of the Union has been a key factor in the transformation of the Irish economy over the past decade. In particular, our access to the vast EU internal market, the richest and most sophisticated in the world, has been vital to securing investment and jobs in Ireland.

The two questions I wish to ask the President are questions which currently exercise the minds of many Irish people. Some people claim that the Lisbon treaty will mean an end to Irish neutrality and force Ireland to join a European army. The President of the European Parliament has long experience dealing with foreign and security policy. Will he offer his reaction to that claim? Second, according to today's The Irish Times, the French plan to re-introduce the Commission's plan for a common corporate tax base. This is a very serious issue for Ireland, given the disadvantages it has as an island state. Can the President assure us that the Lisbon treaty will not remove member states' powers to decide their national tax rates?