Vote Yes for a More Democratic & Transparent EU

Lisbon Does not reduce Ireland’s Voting Strength or Give More Power to the Larger Member States

As I canvass door to door in Dún Laoghaire asking for a yes vote on the Lisbon Treaty, some people tell me they are concerned that the Treaty will mean a shift in power from the smaller Member States to the larger ones. 

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Fianna Fáil Needn’t Worry About the Green Party When it Can’t Keep it’s Own House in Order

I note with interest that the infighting currently being experienced by the Government is within Fianna Fail itself and not between the Government parties. The Green Party seems totally compliant with Government policy at the moment and has come to represent an effective apologist for the policies of this Fianna Fáil-led Government.

Today I asked the Leader of the Seanad about the statement made by the Tánaiste yesterday, when she criticised the validity of the McCarthy Report.  We all have our views on that report but what has happened to the principle of Cabinet collegiality? 

The Tánaiste is not alone in criticising the report.  Her ministerial colleagues, Deputies Cullen and Ó Cuív, have also criticised the McCarthy.  The Minister for Finance had to issue a statement to the effect that the McCarthy report is the basis of the Government’s thinking in the forthcoming budget. 

What is the Government’s position?   Do the comments of various Ministers - I refer in particular to the Tánaiste - represent a concerted effort to undermine the Minister for Finance as he tries to restore order to the public finances?   

Absurd Alliance Between Far Right and Far Left on Lisbon

Today in the Seanad I raised the issue of the Lisbon treaty and the entry of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) into the debate in Ireland, which is entirely inappropriate. 

However, it highlights the informal alliance between the ideas represented by UKIP and those on the far right and those of Sinn Féin on the far left.  If anything, this curious alliance shows the absurdity of the position Sinn Féin has taken in the referendum campaign and why its arguments should be rejected. 

Sinn Féin’s Alternative Guide to Lisbon 2 and the UKIP document on the treaty both contain the same untruths about what the treaty really means.

This alliance between two extreme points of view which are based on falsehoods and lies is the best message as to why people should vote “Yes” to the Lisbon treaty.  It is important to get that message across.   

We have had an informed public debate on the treaty and have had the benefit of clarifications from the European heads of state and government, as well as legally binding guarantees on the issues of concern to Irish people during the first referendum, including the guarantee that we will retain our Commissioner. 

Fine Gael has been calling for a “Yes” vote to ensure the country is put first.  The effect of the campaign by these two organisations - Sinn Féin and UKIP - would be to create an impoverished, politically isolated Ireland on the periphery of Europe.