FIANNA FÁIL has never voted against a European treaty and party leader Micheál Martin has said he does not believe this is about to change.
Speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin he said Fianna Fáil was positive about the EU fiscal treaty and would support it, subject to clarification.
Mr Martin yesterday called on the Government to put the treaty before the people. He wrote to the Taoiseach last week seeking clarity on such issues as the debt brake/deficit rules; the structural deficit limit of 0.5 per cent of GDP; and protection of the Lisbon Treaty protocol on Ireland’s corporation tax rate.
He told reporters yesterday: “We put a series of questions to the Taoiseach: we expect a response to those. We’re supportive of the treaty, we support fiscal controls and we have in the past.”
Asked if he would call for a Yes vote in the event of a referendum, he replied: “Yes, yes of course.”
“We believe the people should be consulted, there should be a referendum, and we would campaign for a Yes vote.”
“Unlike some in the Cabinet, we have never voted against a European treaty and I don’t believe we will start with this one,” he said.
On the need for a referendum, he said: “How can we honestly expect the people to be happy with a situation where they are told that a treaty is important enough to save the euro but not important enough to have a vote on?”
The European Central Bank should be reformed, he added.
“It is time to urgently move to transfer regulatory powers from national central banks to the ECB and to change the role of the national central banks to being agencies implementing the central regulatory rules.”
He said that last year had seen “the unprecedented destruction of public confidence in the EU”.
