2 Apr 2012, 13:54
The newly established Oireachtas Sub-Committee on the EU Fiscal Treaty will tomorrow meet with Irish MEPs, the Chairman of the House of Commons EU Scrutiny Committee and Ambassadors from other EU Member States.
It begins an intensive week’s debate, in which the pros and cons of the Treaty will be considered in eight sessions over three days.
The first session tomorrow will commence at 11 am. The Committee will hear from Ambassador of the Czech Republic, Dr Tomas Kafka, Ambassador of Denmark, Niels Pultz, Ambassador of Greece, Diana Zagorianou-Prifti and Ambassador of Poland, Marcin Nawrot.
Later in the afternoon, at 2 pm, the Committee will meet Irish MEPs Nessa Childers, Marian Harkin, Paul Murphy and Phil Prendergast along with Bill Cash MP, Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons.
These meetings of the Sub-Committee on the Referendum on the Intergovernmental Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union will be covered live on Oireachtas UPC Channel 801.
Committee Chairman Dominic Hannigan TD says: “Our cross-party Sub-Committee will play a key role in connecting the new Treaty with the Irish public in the run up to referendum day on 31 May. Next week will provide us with an opportunity to hear from prominent voices across politics, civil society, academia and diplomacy.
“Conscious that the Irish vote will be followed closely Europe-wide, a session with Ambassadors of other Member States will kick off an intensive period of debate for the Committee. The Czechs did not sign the agreement in March. Denmark and Poland, which sit outside the Eurozone, have signed up to the Treaty along with Greece, which is enduring a difficult period of economic instability. The meeting will allow Committee Members to question representatives of Member States with distinct perspectives on the Treaty.
“Later in the day the Committee will meet with Irish MEPs from a wide geographic spread and representing Labour Party, Socialist and Independent positions on the Treaty. Leading Eurosceptic MP Bill Cash, who chairs the European Scrutiny Committee in the House of Commons, will also address the Committee during this session.
“The debates this week, between the Committee Members and voices from a range of backgrounds on the Treaty, will inform a Sub-Committee report to be published in advance of referendum day on Thursday 31 May.”
The meeting takes place tomorrow Tuesday 3 April in Committee Room 3, Leinster House 2000. It will be broadcast live on UPC Channel 801 and online via this link: http://bit.ly/24YmPI
Updates on the debates will be accessible via the EU Affairs Committee Facebook page.
Later in the week, the Sub-Committee will meet:
- Parliamentarians from other Member States
- Other political voices including the Green Party and Libertas
- Academics and economists
- Representatives from leading civil society and interest groups
View programme.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Paul Hand,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2
P: +353 1 618 4844
M: +353 87 6949926
Sub-Committee Membership
Deputies
Dominic Hannigan, TD (Chairman)
Paschal Donohoe, TD (Vice-Chairman)
Timmy Dooley, TD
Bernard J Durkan, TD
Colm Keaveney, TD
Seán Kyne, TD
Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, TD
Joe O’Reilly, TD
Mick Wallace, TD
Senators
Colm Burke,
Fidelma Healy Eames,
James Heffernan,
Terry Leyden,
Kathryn Reilly