asked the Taoiseach if he will publish the necessary documents to enable the Dáil and public opinion, in advance of the December European Council Meeting, to assess the merits of Irish membership of the proposed European system.

7.

asked the Taoiseach if he will make arrangements for a debate to take place on the European Monetary System prior to the December European Council Meeting.

8.

asked the Taoiseach if the December European Council Meeting will make a decision in relation to the European Monetary System.

9.

asked the Taoiseach if he will make a statement on his recent discussions with Heads of Government of other EEC countries.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 7, 8 and 9 together.

I propose to make a statement after the Order of Business tomorrow on my meetings with the French, British and German Heads of Government. The statement will cover the subject-matter of these questions.

Does the Taoiseach accept that his statement in the Dáil in relation to the question raised of a more substantive debate than the preliminary debate when he said, "I would not think there is any possibility that we will enter the EMS before the Dáil has an opportunity of fully debating the position" imposes an obligation on him to provide time for such a debate?

I would remind the Deputy that quotations are not permitted at Question Time.

I have plenty of quotations here. I think the Deputy is stretching the interpretation of it. In what he has said the quotation is correct. The Dáil will have an opportunity of debating the terms of entry as soon as they have been arrived at if we intend to enter the EMS.

Before we enter?

Nobody is suggesting that we will agree to the terms. I have indicated already that if the terms appear to me to be acceptable then I could give an indication that I would recommend them to my Government and to my Parliament and, in the event of the terms being approved by Government and Parliament, we would go in on these terms.

Without any prior discussion even of the purposes to which the aid might be put or the problems that will be created for our economy that have emerged in the past few weeks as people have discussed the matter? Will it be the case that no such discussion will take place before the Taoiseach enters into this fateful commitment?

We had a very protracted debate in which all of that was set out. Certainly I set it out, as did the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Economic Planning and Development.

Will the Taoiseach not accept that the debate took place many weeks before the possibility was mooted for the first time that Britain might half join, that she might become associated with it but not come into the system? That poses totally new issues for this country. This House has had no chance to consider those issues. The Taoiseach is going to enter into commitments possibly on the basis of that, an eventuality that the House never had a chance to consider and which the Taoiseach or the Minister did not put forward to the House as a possibility.

This House will have the last say on the terms that will be put forward.