Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

Senator de Búrca touched on a number of key issues, namely, defence, neutrality, taxation, social and ethical issues and the Commission. All of those issues are part of the negotiating brief. She and Senator Alex White also touched on the rights of workers. The first point that should be made is that the European Union has been one of the most positive sources of social legislation in Ireland, especially on the protection of workers. I am surprised that neither Senator de Búrca nor Senator Alex White mentioned that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is central to the course of progressing social Europe. The charter was one of the great things the European Trade Union Confederation wanted to achieve. Ireland has already extensive protection in those areas.

Senator Norris has an acute ear. It is interesting that he picked me up on using two different tenses. I used the word "if", but had he been reading the script he would have seen that it was "if" as written by mathematicians. That is appropriate to the previous contribution.