TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny has invited the leaders of the Opposition parties into Government Buildings at 8am today to brief them on the outcome of the European summit.
The invitation was extended to Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, and Catherine Murphy of the Dáil’s technical group.
Earlier, Mr Kenny said no decision would be made before March on whether a referendum relating to proposed EU treaty changes would be required.
Speaking in Westport, he said a huge amount of technical and legal work was needed.
Asked to assess the seriousness of the British veto on treaty changes, Mr Kenny said his preference was that the 27 member states would be involved in the discussion.
It was in everybody’s interest that Europe expanded and was seen to be centre stage in a global sense, he said.
He said he was not suggesting a situation where Ireland would set up a conduit for back channel discussions between Britain and the EU member states.
“We are anxious that every country be involved in the process.”
Meanwhile, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he thought it would be “prudent” for Ireland to have discussions with Britain about bilateral relations as well as “the common approach we have on many issues”. He added: “We’re very conscious of the fact that last year when Ireland was in financial difficulty, Britain unilaterally came to Ireland’s assistance at that stage in the form of a bilateral loan. We’ve common positions, common views on a whole range of areas at European Union level.”