Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 March 2012
47 Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if it his intention to bring the ESM Bill and the European Communities Act (Amendment) Bill before the Oireachtas before or after the referendum on the treaty on stability, co-ordination and governance. [15420/12]
View answerThe Government is giving consideration to all of the elements necessary to advance preparations for the referendum on the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union. The process of preparing an Amendment of the Constitution Bill has already begun. We will aim to publish it as soon as possible, once we have given careful consideration to its contents, consistent with good legal practice. It is the Government's intention to establish a Referendum Commission, in order to ensure that adequate public information is made available ahead of the referendum. The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government will make the necessary arrangements for the establishment of a Commission in due course.
The Minister for Finance intends to publish draft legislation, in advance of the referendum, to provide for the implementation of the Stability Treaty's provisions.
The Government has not yet decided upon a date for the forthcoming referendum on the Stability Treaty, thus it is not possible at this stage to confirm the sequencing of the consideration by the Houses of the Oireachtas of various Bills, including those related to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and to the European Communities Act.
