AGREEMENT on a new treaty for the EU has been generally greeted with enthusiasm in Ireland, particularly in relation to policy on employment, common defence, crime and the powers of the parliament.
The Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, described developments in Amsterdam as "a historic breakthrough".
"The treaty has now been given teeth for the first time to develop measures which are specifically directed at reintegration of the socially excluded into active economic and social life", he said.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, said he welcomed the outcome of the Amsterdam summit "on the basis that the present institutional balance has not been altered".
"We still have a strong Commission, with initiation powers, something that has served us well since we joined the EC in 1973. The powers of the Council of Ministers are also still in place, with some strengthening of the authority of the parliament", Mr Burke said.
Another positive aspect of the accord was the fact that there had been "no decisive move towards common defence... because we don't want Europe to turn itself into a military superpower".
"However, we are pleased at the move towards the provision of peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts by the EU," be added.
The chairman of the European Movement, Mr Maurice O'Connell, said the people of Ireland would face a referendum in the near future to ratify the treaty and must have greater access to information on how the accord would affect them.
The Amsterdam Treaty, while not perfect, represented a step forward for the people of Europe. The inclusion of an employment chapter which called for the goal of employment to be considered when formulating European policies, as well as other measure to encourage job creation, was to be welcomed, he said.
However, the Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, said that concessions "wrung by the French government" at the summit only amounted to "a bland statement on the need for job creation". That objective was incompatible with EMU, she said.
The National Youth Council of Ireland said that young people and voluntary youth organisations would now be recognised in a European treaty for the first time as a result of what had happened in Amsterdam.