David Norris (Independent)

-----the Minister, Deputy Gormley, the leader, has apparently been moderately successful in assuaging some of the doubts of those of us who opposed the Lisbon treaty. I think I was the first person in this House to come out against the Lisbon treaty. I did so because of the military situation. I raised a series of questions that have never been answered and for that reason I welcome the fact that the heads of the European Defence Agency Bill have been prepared. Can the Leader tell us when that Bill will come before the House? It is a most important Bill. I very much welcome that our participation in defence measures will be limited to matters under the programme of the United Nations but the central point concerned the use of the European Defence Agency, formerly the Western European Armaments Group, for the development of the munitions industry for export in Europe. I look for that to be discussed and answered and then perhaps I can come on board and support the Lisbon treaty.

Will the Leader contact the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, and ask him to take an interest in the fate of Dublin Bay? There is a deadline of 7 July for submissions on the proposal by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to infill a very large section of the bay with a potentially disastrous impact on the coastline, wildlife, the natural ecology and the enjoyment of the citizens of Dublin. It is important that we get the Minister's report before the decision is made, and the Minister should request a delay until he gets his own full report.

This is a very sad day because it is the day on which the final report of the Combat Poverty Agency is launched. The independence of this body has been completely and ruthlessly extinguished in the middle of the worst economic circumstances this country has seen. It is a shameful day in that we, as an Oireachtas, have presided over the dismantling of the very agency that supports the poor.