Paschal Donohoe (Fine Gael)

I want to raise the matter of the relationship between the Government and the Opposition, one which I raised last week. I am glad I did because it has caused some debate since then. I raise it in the context of the call for a debate by Senator Boyle on the four-year agreement that will be negotiated between the Government and the European Commission. I have three questions for the Leader. This is a hugely important matter, if not the most important, that the country is examining. If there is no consensus in the Houses of the Oireachtas on the targets of the programme, what right does the Government have to negotiate a programme which it will not have to implement, as in all likelihood there will be a new Government after the next general election? The agreement which it is in the process of negotiating will determine not only the budgetary priorities but also how it will spend money. The Leader's party will not be in government to implement it.

My second question concerns the discussions which will take place this month at the European Council on a proposal made by the European Commission that if a member state breaches the terms of an agreement it has made with it, that member state should be fined by it for not delivering on the programme. A new Government could find itself in a situation where it would have to deal with a programme it had not negotiated, to which it had not agreed when in opposition and then be fined by the Commission for not implementing it.

I want to conclude with a political question-----