asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will state the Government's proposals for direct elections to the European Parliament; and if he will ensure that these proposals will be brought before the Dáil for ratification at an early date.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - European Parliament Elections.
38.
I take it that the Deputy is referring to the Government's policy in relation to the proposals for the election of members to the European Parliament by direct universal suffrage which in recent months have been under examination by the Council of the Communities.
The Deputy will be aware that this matter was considered by the European Council meeting in Rome on 1-2 December and that the European Council agreed that elections to the European Parliament should take place on a single date in May or June, 1978 with the proviso that any country which at that date is unable to hold direct elections should be allowed to appoint its representatives from amongst the elected members of its national Parliament. Britain has not yet adopted a final position regarding the date fixed, while certain conditions for direct elections have been set by Denmark. The European Council instructed the Council of Ministers to continue examination of the problems encountered and to submit a report to enable the text of a Convention on Elections to the European Parliament to be finalised at the next European Council.
The Government, of course, fully support the commitment to hold direct elections in 1978 which arises from the Taoiseach's proposal at the European Summit of December, 1974. They are also in general agreement with the various proposals under consideration by the Council including a proposal, which originated in the Parliament, to the effect that, during an initial period, pending the introduction of a uniform procedure, the electoral system in each member State should be governed by national provisions. The Government also share the majority view that, during the initial period, simultaneous membership in the European and national Parliaments should be left to the choice of individual member States.
The Government are, however, seriously concerned that, under a proposal submited to the Council by the European Parliament, Ireland's proportionate level of representation in an enlarged Parliament would fall from slightly over 5 per cent to about 3.7 per cent. To ensure adequate Irish representation in the directly-elected European Parliament and to enable this country to contribute as fully as possible to the work of the Parliament, Government policy is aimed at maintaining as far as possible Ireland's proportionate level of representation.
On the assumption that all outstanding problems can be solved, the text of a Convention on Elections to the European Parliament should be finalised at or before the next European Council in a few months time. Such a convention would, in accordance with normal practice, be required to be signed and subsequently ratified by all the member States including Ireland. Until the terms of the convention are agreed, it would be premature to try and anticipate the nature and content of the legislative proposals required to implement the convention's provisions.
The Minister was reported in almost all of the newspapers here after the recent Summit meeting as not only having made proposals to that meeting, but also of having resisted proposals made, for instance, by the French Government. Is there any substance in that? Has the Minister not made firm proposals or are those newspaper reports accurate?
Certainly, we put forward a proposal; the French Government put forward a proposal; these were referred to a discussion of the Council of Ministers on Tuesday last which was not, however, conclusive; Various Ministers expressed points of view and the matter was deferred for further consideration.
Could the Minister indicate what representation he suggested to that Council? We are now only relying on newspaper reports. What representation did he suggest Ireland should have at the European Parliament?
The proposal we put forward would give us 18 seats. I should add that would be 18 seats in a somewhat larger Parliament of 384 seats, whereas the proposal from the European Parliament was one of 355 seats.
The Minister has indicated that this matter has to be determined at the Summit meeting in March next. That leaves very little time for us to have our position clarified. In the meantime does the Minister think it would be possible to have this matter discussed here in the House—I know it will have to be ratified subsequently—so that he can go to that Summit meeting with the full support of the House?
I would not exclude that. At the moment it is a matter of negotiation. It is possible that, at say, the January meeting of the Council it may be settled at Council level. It does not necessarily follow that the matter will remain outstanding with the European Council. I would not exclude the possibility of discussion on this subject. It might perhaps be combined with a discussion of the latest report on the EEC. That is something that could be discussed with the Whips.
March is in fact the deadline, so that the time schedule is very short. It is very urgent.
What I am saying to the Deputy is that it might be settled even earlier.
Well, then, it is even more urgent.
If we can get an agreement satisfactory to us in January or February, before the European Council, we would naturally be quite happy. We do not necessarily want to drag out the agony of the European Council if we get a satisfactory settlement before that.
Just to strengthen the Minister's position, if he thinks that any consultations either through the House or Committees of the House would be helpful I would be very anxious to see that on the part of our party.
I appreciate that and I welcome very much the support being given on the point of the scale of our representation by the Committee on EEC Secondary Legislation. It may very well be that this is something that could appropriately be discussed after the Christmas recess if we are not making progress towards a satisfactory solution.
The remaining questions will appear on the Order Paper for the next sitting day of the Dáil.