The Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs has discussed plans for its members to participate in public meetings around the country to encourage debate on the EU reform treaty in the run-up to next year's referendum.
"There is a feeling that this is something that should be done," Fine Gael TD and committee chairman Bernard Durkan said, after the joint committee meeting yesterday. "We must help raise awareness of the issues surrounding the referendum and make sure there is a broad understanding of what the treaty involves."
The committee agreed to draw up an interim report on the treaty before the end of January. "As soon as we have a date for the referendum, we will undertake this tour of the regions," he said.
Six committee members will travel to Brussels this weekend to discuss the treaty with officials.
Yesterday's meeting also included submissions from a visiting delegation from the Serbian parliament. They discussed EU-Serbian relations, with specific reference to the debate on Kosovo's future. Members of the Bulgarian parliament's European affairs committee also addressed the Oireachtas committee.