Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 11 Dec 1997

Vol. 485 No. 1

Written Answers. - Treaty of Amsterdam.

Pat Rabbitte

Ceist:

18 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the White Paper on the Amsterdam Treaty will be produced; the measures, if any, he plans to ensure an informed debate on the treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22365/97]

Paul Connaughton

Ceist:

34 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will review the way in which public information campaigns on referenda are run in view of the importance of the referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty to the Irish people; the consideration, if any, which is being given to funding pro and anti umbrella campaigns in order that the public can be comprehensively informed prior to casting their vote. [22413/97]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Andrews)

I intend to reply to Questions Nos. 18 and 34 together.

The White Paper on the Treaty of Amsterdam has now been finalised within my Department and I intend to launch it early in the New Year.

I hope that the White Paper will stimulate an informed debate on the Treaty of Amsterdam. One of the Department's principal aims in drafting the White Paper has been to make it as accessible and as user-friendly as possible, in recognition of the fact that the Treaty of Amsterdam, as an amending treaty, is not only an extremely complex document, but is also almost unreadable as a stand-alone text. Unlike the Maastricht Treaty, the Single European Act and the founding EC Treaties, the Treaty of Amsterdam essentially contains a series of amendments and sets out to improve the existing treaties. It will result in important changes to the functioning of the Union in key areas and will enhance its capacity to address some of the issues of most concern to citizens of the Union. This means that a comprehensive and comprehensible White Paper is required to inform the public of the contents of the treaty and what it sets out to achieve.

As far as public information campaigns for referenda are concerned, the Deputy will appreciate that general policy on referenda information does not come within the scope of the responsibilities of the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I can only speak on the specific case of the Treaty of Amsterdam.

A primary consideration must be the Government's fulfilment of its clear duty to inform the public comprehensively. In the case of the upcoming referendum on the Treaty of Amsterdam, the White Paper will, as I have already said, be one important means of making the public aware of the content of the treaty, hopefully contributing to an informed public debate on the treaty. I would also expect in the normal course of events that my ministerial colleagues and I will have occasion to speak both here and elsewhere on particular aspects of the treaty and to provide the Government's view of their significance.

The Government will, of course, be mindful of the need to respect the relevant Supreme Court judgments, in particular the implications of the judgments relating to public funding in a referendum campaign.