I move amendment No. 1:
In page 2, line 23, after "1967" to insert", and in accordance with Article 8c of the Treaty on European Union 1993".
We in Fine Gael are drawing the Minister's attention to the fact that we are now a member of the European Union. This raises the question of whether this Bill needs to take account of this fact. The European Union came into operation 1 November 1993 but the Bill would have been drafted prior to that. Article 8 (c) of the Treaty of European Union provides that every citizen of the Union shall, in the territory of a third country in which the member state of which he is a national is not represented, be entitled to protection by the diplomatic or consular authorities of any member state on the same conditions as the nationals of that member state. Before 31 December 1993 member states shall establish the necessary rules among themselves and start the international negotiations required to secure this protection. I can envisage two situations. An Irish citizen may need to avail of diplomatic or consular services in Burma, but we do not have anybody resident there. Under the Maastricht Treaty he is entitled to go the British or French Embassy and is legally entitled to be protected and looked after as well as having consular acts performed and so on. The question of fees he should pay for those services then arises. In the second case, we have a mission in Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, and I could envisage a situation where a citizen from Luxembourg, which does not have representation in Maseru, needs to avail of such services. Under the Maastricht Treaty if a citizen of Luxembourg requires diplomatic or consular services in Lesotho he is entitled to go to our office and have those services provided. The question is what fees should be charged in that situation. The point I am raising is whether it is necessary to provide for fees in this Bill, which lays down conditions and regulations about consular and diplomatic services.