Ireland is facing “a milestone moment” when it votes on the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd, with ratification representing a major step on the road to national economic and financial recovery, according to Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche.
Mr Roche told the Ógra Fianna Fáil convention in Cork that the Irish people will have the choice of joining with the 26 other EU members in ratifying the treat or of putting Ireland out on a limb at a time of unprecedented economic turmoil.
And Mr Roche said that the evidence of Ireland's 36 years of membership since joining the then EEC in 1973 pointed clearly towards ratification of the Lisbon Treaty as the correct option for the Irish people.
Foreign direct investment in Ireland has grown by 939 times since Ireland joined the EU in 1973, said Mr Roche who instanced the experience of US investment in Ireland as a result of our EU membership.
In 2006, US investment in Ireland was bigger than all US investment in Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. "That investment means jobs and we should keep the gateway to that investment and jobs open by voting Yes," he said.
Mr Roche said that Ireland is more dependent on exports than most countries with 80 per cent of every good and service it produces being exported and two thirds of these going to the EU and two out every three jobs are linked to Ireland's membership of the EU.
"Some of the organisations looking for a No vote now were looking for a No vote in the referendum in 1972 to join the European Union — they were wrong then and they are wrong now," he said.
Mr Roche's comments on how Ireland has benefitted economically from membership of the EU were echoed by Ireland South Fianna Fáil MEP, Brian Crowley who emphasized the benefits of having access to such a large single market.
Mr Crowley said that when Ireland was voting on whether to join the EEC back in 1972, some 90 per cent of Irish exports went to the UK compared to a situation today where 87 per cent of Irish products are sold within the EU.
"Today some 60 per cent of our exports go to other EU eurozone countries — the European single market is hugely important to Irish producers and to the Irish economy and that's why we must campaign for a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum," he said.
