THE CASE AGAINST
By Patricia McKenna

We are not voting ‘For’ or ‘Against’ Europe but rather for what type of Europe we want for ourselves and our children. Those who want the Lisbon Treaty rejected are not anti-European. We want a better and, most of all, a more democratic Europe that puts people and their rights before the interests of big business and arms industries.

Lisbon fundamentally changes the current EU– as our Constitutional amendment makes clear– and replaces it with an entirely new union. Some of the key changes within this new union will have serious repercussion for small states.

Lisbon– originally the EU Constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters– will increase the voting power of the larger countries at the expense of smaller ones. Ireland’s voting strength will be reduced to less than one percentage point while Germany will increase its vote by over one hundred percent.

Issues of concern last time are still relevant, as not one word of the Treaty has changed. The so-called legal guarantees or declarations ‘will clarify but not change either the content or the application of the Treaty of Lisbon’ (from text of Irish guarantees).

The provisions within the treaty relating to taxation have not been removed and Ireland has no opt-out from them. Workers’ rights and the EU policy of wage dumping– a key concern for people last time– still remains. The European Defence Agency EDA, set up at the behest of Europe’s arms manufacturers, will be given legal status and key tasks, including the power to assess Ireland’s military capabilities.

Genuine fear about our economy is being used to frighten people into voting yes or things worsen. But Lisbon is based on a failed economic approach and cannot cure our economic ills. If we vote No we are still full EU members and we provide the opportunity for real EU reform.

THE CASE FOR
By Lucinda Creighton

Ayes vote is in the best interests of Ireland. A yes vote is the first step we must take to set Ireland’s economy on the road to recovery. I disagree strongly with the Government on a range of issues, from Nama to Budget cuts, but I believe that a yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty is vital for this country’s future.

The Lisbon Treaty itself will make the EU more effective, more efficient and more democratic. It will allow us to work with our neighbours to deal with international problems like climate change and cross-border crime. It will give the EU the tools to respond to the challenges we are currently facing. These are challenges Ireland simply cannot tackle alone.

A lot has changed since the last referendum 15 months ago. We have negotiated with our EU colleagues and secured the legal guarantees which are now included. These guarantees safeguard our complete control over our own destiny on matters such as neutrality, taxation and the right to life. We will also have a guaranteed Irish Commissioner if the Lisbon Treaty is passed.

Our economy has also changed dramatically since last year. A yes vote alone won’t cure the economic ills that we are suffering, but without a yes vote we have no prospect of recovery.

Our commitment to the European Union has been at the centre of our economy since we joined in 1973. Companies invest in Ireland to get access through us to a 500 million consumer market.

Voting no won’t kick us out of Europe, but international business will be left with the impression that we are becoming eurosceptic, a country more interested in attacking Europe than reforming Europe. And if our relationship with Europe suffers, investment will suffer.

A survey by employers’ organisation IBEC, found that 84% of the heads of major companies in Ireland believe last year’s no vote did major damage to Ireland. Jobs and economic recovery are the most important issues facing Ireland. A yes vote will lay the foundations for our economic recovery.

The most recent jobless figures are a reminder of just how grave our present economic situation is. At a time when there are almost 430,000 people on the Live Register, we cannot afford to reduce our commitment to a European Union that has seen one million jobs being created here since we joined in 1973. For the 95,000 people under the age of 25 on the Live Register, a yes vote is essential.

For the economy, for jobs, for the Irish commissioner, for the future, we need a yes vote on the 2nd of October.