Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

Flattery will the Senator everywhere. A copy of the Constitution has been handed to me. The relevant article is Article 28.3.1o . Whatever about the Finance Bill, Article 28.3.1o of the Constitution states: "War shall not be declared and the State shall not participate in any war save with the assent of Dáil Éireann". The article goes on to deal with what happens in the case of actual invasion and states the Government may take the appropriate action and call the Dáil together as quickly as possible. This is the only area of policy where there is such a provision in the Constitution. Elsewhere, the Seanad is involved to a greater or lesser degree. We did not seek formal advice but we discussed the matter at Cabinet and, as I understand it, the view of the Attorney General appears to be that if one could go to war with the consent of one House of the Oireachtas, namely the Lower House, then for something less serious, such as participation in and EDA project or in permanent structured co-operation, it would be illogical to have to surmount the higher barrier of requiring approval of both Houses of the Oireachtas. This is the reasoning.