A Chara, - I am one of those awkward people who try to read the small print. It has actually proved very helpful in a few situations when I needed to query decisions.
Having examined the Belfast Agreement to my satisfaction, I would like the chance to examine the Amsterdam Treaty in its entirety. As one who is generally pro-European, particularly for what the people of Ireland can contribute to Europe (as we did more than 1,000 years ago), I still feel reluctant to put my name to something I have not had a chance to examine for myself. The very size and cost of the printed document, however, is a deterrent to widespread distribution.
There is an alternative. As you have done with the Belfast Agreement, the Amsterdam Treaty could be made available on the Internet/Web; but a document this large could be painfully slow to download. When we were preparing for the Maastricht treaty, I was able to examine the document in electronic form; it was distributed (compressed) on computer disk with a British magazine. The Amsterdam treaty too should fit compressed on a single floppy disk, or in its full glory on a CDROM; all for a relatively low cost. While it could be argued that this would discriminate against those who do not have access to or a working relationship with a computer, it would at least fill part of the gap. - Is mise, Padraig McCarthy
The Presbytery, Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.