Deal is good for Ireland and for EU

After almost 24 gruelling hours of squabbling between EU leaders, the Irish Government can afford to be well pleased at the outcome of negotiations on how Europe will spend almost €1tn between 2014 and 2020.

However, given the importance of an endgame with so much at stake, the beleaguered citizens of the 27-member EU club must be aghast at the appalling spectacle of overnight battles between representatives of competing nations trying to grind opponents to the point of exhaustion, a ridiculous scenario in which crucial decisions that will influence the lives of millions of Europeans should never be taken.

A sense of uncertainty continues to hang over the seven-year plan, which can only be described as an austerity budget. The result is that EU leaders are now on collision course with the European Parliament that threatens to overturn an outcome which, for the first time in its history, means the union will have to operate with less money in the coffers than ever before. As far as MEPs are concerned, Europe should be spending more money, not less, on its people.