Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 19: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has been in contact with the President of the European Council, Mr. Herman Von Rompuy, in relation to the consultation process on proposals to further amend the EU treaties that was outlined following the last European Council meeting; if proposals to punish member states who breach the Stability and Growth Pact by depriving them of voting rights in the Council is now firmly off the table; and his views that any change to the EU treaties will necessitate a referendum here as promised during the Lisbon II campaign [43324/10]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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At its meeting on 28 and 29 October, the European Council asked President Van Rompuy to undertake consultations with Member States including on the question of creating a permanent crisis resolution mechanism and the possibility of limited Treaty change required to that effect. I understand that bilateral consultations will begin later this month between President Van Rompuy's office and individual Member States. The European Council has agreed to revert to the matter at its next meeting on 16 and 17 December, with a view to taking the final decision on both the outline of a crisis mechanism and on a limited Treaty amendment, so that any change can be ratified by mid-2013 at the latest. Ahead of the October European Council meeting, proposals were also made by a small number of Member States, most prominently France and Germany, that the Treaties should be amended to provide for the suspension of the voting rights of a Member State in serious violation of the basic principles of Economic and Monetary Union. This was a particularly controversial proposal and I understand that there was little enthusiasm for it at the October European Council meeting. Nonetheless, the President of the European Council intends, as a subsequent and completely separate exercise to the consultations I have describe above, to consult with Member States on this matter. No timeframe or deadline has been placed on this process. We will await President Van Rompuy's separate report to the European Council on this issue at a future date.

With regard to the necessity for a referendum on any possible Treaty amendment, clearly it is far too early to pronounce on that matter. We will have to examine very carefully whatever emerges from the process which is now underway. The October European Council explicitly stated that what is being sought is limited Treaty change. When we have a concrete proposal for an amendment to the Treaties, we will carefully assess whether it has any constitutional implications for Ireland. At that stage, whatever steps are required to enable Ireland to ratify an amendment will be put in train.

It is worth bearing in mind that not all aspects of Treaty change have required the referendum route for ratification in Ireland. Amendments to allow the accession of new Member States have, for example, been dealt with here through Oireachtas approval.