First draft of EU deal likely to be ready by Christmas

THE FIRST draft of the EU fiscal deal which could lead to a referendum is expected before Christmas, a senior official at the Department of the Taoiseach has confirmed.

The Oireachtas European affairs committee yesterday heard from Geraldine Byrne-Nason, second secretary general at the department, who reported on the status of the deal aimed at solving the debt crisis and saving the euro.

“We don’t have it yet,” she said. “The indications from the services in Brussels are that we should have it before Christmas. That will be in all of the negotiations a very first basis for discussion, but I think it’s a good indicator that this business is moving very quickly.

“So I expect that we will, before the break for Christmas, have to take home as bedside reading a draft international agreement,” Ms Byrne-Nason added.

Ms Byrne-Nason was responding to a question from Fianna Fáil TD Timmy Dooley, who asked when Irish officials could expect to receive a first draft.

The number of issues “that remain to be elaborated are not that many”, Ms Byrne-Nason said, while acknowledging that their “depth and complexity” was a different matter. “But to get negotiations under way, we don’t need that much time.”

Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames raised concerns about Britain’s decision to veto a new EU treaty. “They have taken a stance at this stage that is by its nature an isolationist stance,” Ms Healy-Eames said. Ms Byrne-Nason described the move as “really disappointing” from Ireland’s perspective.

“We had genuinely begun with negotiation with not just the objective but the expectation, frankly, that there would be an outcome of the level of 27 [member states], and that the country that might not be included in the 27 might be the UK clearly has a very particular importance for Ireland,” Ms Byrne-Nason said.

She added that Britain was not only Ireland’s closest neighbour but often its “staunchest ally” at the European table. However, she stressed it was up to prime minister David Cameron to decide on how best to advance British interests.

Ms Byrne-Nason was appointed in July. She was previously ambassador, deputy permanent representative of Ireland to the European Union. Before that she spent seven years with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and served in Ireland’s representation to the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.