40 Miss Flaherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will consider an NGO forum in conjunction with the major intergovernmental conferences in the early stages of the Intergovernmental Conference in order to commence ongoing liaison. [5996/96]

41 Mr. Hilliard asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the nature and extent of the discussions which took place at the Intergovernmental Conference in Turin at the end of March 1996; and his views regarding the progress and timeframe for the completion of the Intergovernmental Conference. [8283/96]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 40 and 41 together.