FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny urged the electorate last night not to use the Lisbon Treaty referendum as a means of "voicing their disgust" at the "ongoing revelations" at the Mahon tribunal.
Speaking in favour of the treaty at a debate hosted by NUI Galway's Political Discussion Society, Mr Kenny said it would be easy for him as leader of Fine Gael to take a position that would be "short-term, narrow-minded and narrow-focused". The referendum was far more important than divisions between parties in Government and Opposition.
The treaty was very important for the future of the next generation, Mr Kenny said, and he referred to a changed economic landscape internationally over the next 25 years. There was a risk that Europe would fall behind in terms of its economic capacity if it did not meet the challenges ahead, he said.
Referring to immigration, Mr Kenny said that if even 10 per cent of young males from Africa were to emigrate to Europe, this could create a "tremendous challenge".
Speaking against the treaty, former Socialist TD Joe Higgins said it had the most profound implications in terms of foreign policy and in terms of increasing militarisation. It would further a neoliberal economic agenda and allow major business corporations to encroach in such areas as health and education, he said.
Mr Higgins also said it would prevent member states from pursuing a foreign policy that might conflict with the EU's common foreign and defence policy.
He described as "shameful" the support given to the treaty by the Labour and trade union movements and said "we shouldn't be surprised" at the stance of the Green Party because it was "displaying such acute signs of Stockholm syndrome".
Speaking for the treaty, Labour Party president Michael D Higgins said he was taking a "critical Yes position". Criticising the delay by the Government in allowing for a proper debate on the treaty, Mr Higgins was also critical of the Taoiseach's description of those who opposed the treaty as "loolahs and loonies".
Mr Higgins said it would be "a more appropriate term for those who keep their money in biscuit tins, wardrobes or the fridge".
The Labour Party leader said that while he agreed with many of the concerns expressed by Joe Higgins, he felt a global response was required to the immense challenges facing the global community, including climate change, new threats to world peace and the need to tackle poverty and recognise diversity. This challenge existed before and extended beyond the terms of the Lisbon Treaty, but key elements would assist in creating a space for projects such as the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, and also the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into the treaty.
Speaking against the treaty, Patricia McKenna, a Green Party member and former MEP, said the treaty had already been rejected in an earlier form by two founding members of the EU. It was a "distortion of the truth" to describe those who opposed it as anti-European, she said. Referring to the issue of climate change, she described it as a "red herring", as the treaty only had half a dozen words on this issue. It was hypocritical of Ireland to emphasise this aspect of the treaty when Ireland was also challenging the EU in relation to reducing carbon emissions, Ms McKenna added.
Speaking in favour of the treaty, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuiv, said the treaty would support the interests of smaller member states and would ensure that priority interests for Ireland, such as taxation and defence, would be matters for unanimous decision.
Speaking against the treaty, Naoise Nunn, of the Libertas campaign, said the treaty was not about reform and it would not necessarily create democratic accountability.
