THOSE IN favour of the stability treaty have a duty to point out the dangers of a No vote on May 31st, according to former president of the European parliament Pat Cox.
He was speaking at the launch of a referendum campaign by Alliance for Ireland, a civic society group that has brought together a range of organisations and community activists to campaign for the treaty.
Mr Cox told the campaign launch in a hotel in Dublin that access to the European Stability Mechanism after 2013 was a form of insurance policy that would assist Ireland back to the financial markets and ultimately to sovereignty.
“A Yes vote will signal certainty as to where Ireland stands. A No vote will add to uncertainty and in a period of crisis and national vulnerability will raise additional questions about our national credit-worthiness,” said Mr Cox.
He added that credit ratings agencies had already dubbed as a “credit-negative event” the decision to hold a referendum.
“As a State planning to return to the markets Ireland does not need at this time a self-imposed credit-negative event with its downside consequences. To point this out is a duty and not a threat. The Irish people deserve to be told the truth.”
Mr Cox said the growing political debate and insistence on European growth initiatives, particularly in the light of the French presidential election, was consistent with Ireland’s needs and interests.
“A European growth initiative, if it happens, would not replace the stability treaty but would complement it. It is not and will not be an either/or choice. The Alliance for Ireland calls for a European growth initiative.”
Former Labour TD and MEP Brendan Halligan said the economic future of the country was the central issue in the referendum and that was what had prompted so many organisations and individuals to unite under the slogan “Securing Our Future”.
He said that at present the country was bankrupt and needed to borrow from other countries in order to pay our way and repay existing debt.
“We will need their help for the foreseeable future, in particular from the other countries participating in the euro. For that reason alone the ratification of the stability treaty is essential. We should ratify it in our own self-interest, just as Portugal and Greece have done.”
Mr Halligan said the alliance was unique as the largest civil society organisation ever put together in a referendum campaign and had registered with the Standards in Public Office Commission.
“We bring a distinct voice to the referendum; the voice of concerned citizens who see their country in peril and wish to do something positive to secure our future.”
He added that Ireland had suffered severe economic crises before in the 1970s and 1980s, and in both cases had managed to get out of its difficulties through hard-fought fiscal discipline and the support of the EU.
“Ourselves alone is not the answer when capital moves in the blink of an eye. Neither is pretending there are easy answers to a gap in our public finances that anyone can see and understand for themselves. This year alone it is €13.5 billion.”
Pat Smith, the secretary general of the Irish Farmers’ Association, said a Yes vote was in the best interests of the country, while a No vote would be massively destabilising.
Danny McCoy, director general of employers’ organisation Ibec, said he had yet to meet someone in business who did not know that a Yes vote was essential.
Blair Horan of trade union Charter Group said the stakes in the referendum could not be higher as it was about protecting the value of the euro in people’s pockets, pensions and social welfare payments.
Olive Braiden of Women for Europe said Irish women owed their rights to Europe.
