Vol. 459 No. 8
136 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the current position regarding the negotiations between Irish and British officials on Irish Steel; the plans, if any, he has for further political initiatives with his British counterpart in advance of the Industry Council of Ministers meeting; and the approach he intends to adopt at the Council meeting. [19101/95]
I met the president of the UK Board of Trade Mr. Ian Lang and the UK Minister for Industry and Energy, Mr. Timothy Eggar in London on 5 December to discuss the UK attitude to the Irish Steel case for approval under Article 95 of the ECSC Treaty. Since then the UK have been considering the points made by me and I understand that senior British officials will be in contact with senior Irish officials within the next few days. The Industry Council on Wednesday 20 December, specifically requested by Ireland to discuss the Irish Steel case, will present another opportunity for further political initiatives with my UK counterparts where I hope the genuineness of the Irish Steel case which is supported by the 13 other member states plus the Commission and the Presidency will be accepted by the UK thus enabling the UK to lift its reservation.
