NONE OF the political parties supporting the Lisbon Treaty paused to reflect on why people accepted “blatant scaremongering”, Labour deputy leader Joan Burton told the Dáil.
In the “post-11 September world, security is important, whether one is a neutral nation or part of a military or regional alliance. However, you cannot confuse security with military adventures or a global war on terror about which people felt profoundly uncomfortable. We have not had that debate in this House and so many of the women who voted no said that was a cornerstone in their thinking.” They had a “palpable fear” their children or grandchildren would be conscripted into a European army.
Fine Gael foreign affairs spokesman Billy Timmins asked “how can you reconcile the claim about unelected bureaucrats with seeking to have a permanent commissioner? What is a commissioner other than an unelected bureaucrat?”
Timmy Dooley (FF, Clare) believed the No campaign “clearly told lies”. He saw “documentation and literature proposing that abortion, the death penalty, conscription, child tagging and tax matters all were issues”.
Lucinda Creighton, Fine Gael director of elections in Dublin for the referendum, sharply criticised the Government who showed arrogance and “an abject failure” to “lead from the front”. She said all on the Yes side “must accept a certain portion of the blame”, but “there was very little leadership from Ministers”.
Labour foreign affairs spokesman Michael D Higgins said it should be understood that “foreign policy and defence – not going to war in the interests of peace – these things alone make up the definition of a peaceful region in world politics. That is totally different from a bloc that has declared a war on terrorism, that identifies enemies around the world.”
Mary White (Greens, Carlow-Kilkenny) said “many people in Ireland know more about Manchester United than they do about the European Union. I was in a public place recently where a man mentioned a politician named Charlie Haughey. A young boy replied: ‘And who does he play for?’ Is there any hope that the same boy will ever know who José Manuel Barroso is?”
Tom McEllistrim (FF, Kerry North) called for the introduction of European studies along with civic, social and political education as a subject at second level for the leaving certificate curriculum. He said that despite applying for membership of the European project 47 years ago, “we know and understand relatively little of its structures and procedures”.
