Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When we signed up to the Lisbon treaty we made a declaration that we would participate to the maximum extent possible. There is a duty of sincere co-operation.

It would be more than unusual if, having negotiated all seven of these measures, we were not proposing them collectively as a whole-of-government, whole-of-EU response to what is one of the biggest challenges that we face. If anybody can tell me any of the seven measures that will not benefit Ireland, and why and how they are not interconnected, then that is another thing. However, somebody has yet to tell me which of the seven measures will not benefit Ireland and why.