Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he and his EU colleagues have engaged in the necessary discussions to address the issues arising from Ireland's failure to ratify the Lisbon Treaty; the extent to which other EU Member States are satisfied with any or all of the expected provisions required to meet the concerns as expressed by the Irish people after the defeated referendum; when he expects full and final agreement to be reached in these matters; if diplomatic initiatives or campaigns are expected to arise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21803/09]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Last December the European Council agreed to a comprehensive package of measures to respond to the Irish people's concerns as outlined by the Taoiseach.

Specifically, the European Council agreed that, provided the Treaty of Lisbon enters into force, each Member State will continue to have the right to nominate a Commissioner. It also agreed that the necessary legal guarantees will be given to Ireland in the areas of taxation, defence and the provisions of the Constitution on the right to life, education and family. It further agreed that the high importance the EU attaches to social issues, including workers' rights, will be confirmed.

I am glad to have this opportunity to advise this House that detailed work is underway to give effect to these commitments. In accordance with the December European Council's Conclusions, it is intended that this work should be finalised at the June European Council.

If the Government is fully satisfied with the outcome of this work, we are committed to seeking ratification of the Treaty by the end of the term of the current Commission, which is expected to leave office at the end of October.

Our work is being taken forward at a number of different levels with our EU partners and with the EU institutions. Minister Martin and I have met a number of our colleagues to discuss this matter, most recently the Czech Minister for European Affairs, Štefan Füle, who was in Ireland on 14 May.

Our Partners continue to be extremely supportive of our efforts to secure an agreement that will provide necessary reassurance on the issues that arose during last year's referendum campaign. I anticipate that the Taoiseach and Minister Martin and I will need to engage further with our colleagues in the run-up to the June European Council. Throughout our discussions with the other Member States, we have been stressing the need for legally robust guarantees.

As the global economic and financial crisis has underscored, the European Union remains key to the promotion and protection of Ireland's national interests. The Government attaches utmost priority to ensuring that Ireland remains at the heart of the Union and it is our judgement that this requires that we deal with the concerns that arose last year and, on that basis, join with the other 26 Member States in ratifying the Lisbon Treaty.