Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach as ucht an fhreagra a thug sé don Teach. I was interested to hear about the Taoiseach's activities in Saudi Arabia, not least because while he was there, the Minister for Foreign Affairs was moonlighting in Balbriggan on his behalf. We were all very interested to know why the Taoiseach was in Saudi Arabia while the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, was opening Balbriggan Town Hall. While the Taoiseach explained that quite well, I assure him that he missed a great day in Balbriggan.

The Taoiseach recently spoke about the manner in which the World Economic Forum, which recently met in Davos, marvelled at this country's dynamism. I understand that the forum also marvelled at the lack of snow in Switzerland, as an example of how climate change is catching up seriously on its "business as usual" plans.

The Taoiseach mentioned energy in his reply. Will he elaborate on what he heard discussed and what contribution he made on the subject of climate change, given that it is a matter on which global international co-operation is required? Was attention drawn to the bad record of this country or was that masked by the marvelling at the dynamism he mentioned? Will the Taoiseach comment on the fact that Ireland is not performing well on its international commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, with a small cut of 5% rather than the 80% cut that is needed according to the IPCC report?

I spoke at the Forum on Europe last week. I discussed the situation with the constitution and how it might be necessary to reassess it to get a more optimum document that might enjoy greater support and consensus. There might be a role for the convention to sit again for a limited period in an effort to reflect the democratic wishes of the people in the Netherlands and France and the concerns of the other member states. I agree that the Charter of Fundamental Rights is important, and that is one of many aspects to be discussed.

I do not have a difficulty with what is decided on the constitution, although I doubt that bringing back the convention would be a great idea. The German Presidency would prefer to keep the process tight and it is correct in that. If the process is opened up, many matters that were agreed in the convention a number of years ago will come back into play. There were delicate balances on a range of issues in the convention and in the discussions afterwards. If agreement cannot be secured it might be necessary to use that forum, but I do not believe it will be. The convention signed off on a position so I doubt that it will happen. I think the issue will be dealt with within the member states.

A total of 19 countries have signed up to staying with the constitution as it is. Six countries have some reservations, including, obviously, France and the Netherlands. The position in France is easier because it is clearer. I am not clear what the position is in the Netherlands; they do not appear to have worked it out. Poland has re-opened the issue of the weighted votes, something on which it was slow to agree in the first place. It was the last country to agree to them.

The problem revolves around a small number of issues. The British Government would like to remove the Charter of Fundamental Rights from the constitution, but that would be a big mistake and it would create many problems. However, its position is that it should be moved into an annexe or removed altogether. The British would get support for their position because we had a great deal of trouble having it included in the first place.

The Deputy is familiar with what happens in Davos. There are open plenary sessions with the president of the G8 and the President of the EU, Angela Merkel, and there are panel discussions on the European agenda. I participated in those. There is an enormous number of sessions on various issues. The one in which I participated was on education, training and skills. This country has high credibility for its position in that area. Between 40 and 50 countries engaged in that session.

I was not involved in the session on climate change but I read the reports of what happened in that session and the reports of what business people said. If I had been there, I would have pointed out that Ireland has successfully decoupled its greenhouse gas emissions from economic growth——