Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum is in Ireland’s “vital national interest”.
Delivering his first address to the Forum on Europe in Dublin this morning, Mr Cowen said: “I believe in a European Union that believes in Ireland’s future.
“I see the respect it shows to Ireland and other smaller countriesand how this has been core to this Treaty”, he added. “It is in Ireland’s interest that the Union continues with that."
Mr Cowen said taxation remained the subject of unanimity in the European Union and Ireland will continue to have a veto. He also said defence "remains a sovereign matter" and the Ireland’s neutrality is “rock solid”.
He said “21st century challenges” such as globalisation, climate change and cross-border crime are “trans-national phenomena which cannot be tackled by countries standing alone.”
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny looks on as the Taoiseach Brian Cowen delivers his major address at the meeting
“For us, this means that we need an EU which has structures, policies and procedures capable of having an effective impact on the quality of life of our people in these modern times," Mr Cowen added.
“This is what lies at the heart of the Lisbon Reform Treaty and this is why it is important for Ireland and for Europe that it be ratified.”
He said the “Eurosceptic ideology makes much play of the idea that the EU is the enemy of national sovereignty.
“The truth is that the Union is the greatest enabler of national sovereignty in our history,” he said.
“Instead of looking on from the outside as power blocks took the decisions affecting our future, we have been able to be at the table shaping these decisions and to ensure that others respect our interests.
“I am satisfied that that the Lisbon Treaty is the best deal that could be on the table. It may not be perfect, but in a negotiation of 27 Member States, perfection is an unattainable or unrealistic objective."
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, Labour TD Joe Costello and others spoke afterwards in favour of the Treaty, while Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald said Ireland would lose “very many sensitive vetos” if the Lisbon Treaty was passed.
“You claim that at a demand for renegotiation is unrealistic,” she told Mr Cowen.“You and I both know that there is always a ‘Plan B’ in in political life.
She said the Government had negotiated “a very poor deal” that “does not enhance Ireland’s standing in Europe”.
“There must be a ‘Plan B and the demand for a renegotiation is a real one. I don’t believe people should be scaremongered or bullied into supporting this treaty”, she added.
The Yes side received a significant boost yesterday when the executive council of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions voted to support the Treaty.
At a meeting in Dublin, the council voted 14 to 5 in favour of supporting the treaty. There were 8 abstentions. Congress represents more than 600,000 workers in various unions across the country.
Speaking after the vote, Ictu General Secretary David Begg expressed satisfaction that Congress had adopted a clear position on “an issue of major public importance.”
However, the State's largest craft union, the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) is advising its 45,000 members to vote No claiming that recent judgments by the European Court of Justice show workers' rights have been sidelined in favour of big business.
TEEU general secretary designate Eamon Devoy said: "Some trade union leaders may talk optimistically about the Social Charter and what it might achieve, but recent key judgements by the European Court of Justice show the direction in which the EU is heading, and it is in favour of big business.
Replying to the questions and submissions from the floor, Mr Cowen rejected claims that the treaty threatens Ireland's military neutrality and that it would result in the privatisation of essential public services.
"The facts are there is no threat in this treaty to our traditional policy of military neutrality and there are several safeguards in the treaty for our distinctive national position," Mr Cowen said.
"Firstly, unanimity continues to be the rule in security and defence matters. We preserve a veto over any proposal or crisis management issue with which we disagree. The treaty allows the council acting unanimously to entrust the execution of a particular mission to a smaller group of states, just as with the current mission in Chad. But such missions can only be launched with the unanimous approval of all member states regardless of whether they participate or not."
He said Ireland could choose whether or not to particpate in certain overseas operations, such as the mission in Kosovo. Ireland's participation in such missions, he said, had brought "great credit to our country" and there were people who had paid "the ultimate price".
Mr Cowen told the forum that Ireland's participation in such missions would continue and he was "proud of the fact that this treaty recognises our ability to do so".
"The treaty arrangements set out here are totally consistent with our military neutrality policy," he said.
Mr Cowen said none of this State's "red lines" had been crossed in the Lisbon Treaty.
He rejected claims by the Socialist Party that social services were under threat of privatisation if the treaty is passed in the June 12th referendum.
"The simple fact is that public services such as health and education are a matter for national governments," he said.
Mr Cowen also welcomed the fact that the "great majority" of democratic political parties are supporting the treaty.
"Many of the people, by the way, who talk about an absence of democracy in this treaty or in how we do our affairs, are not it seems to me in many cases people who have actually obtained a democratic mandate themselves."
Today's debate is available on the Forum on Europe website at:
www.forumoneurope.ie