Fianna Fáil ignoring the will of people on Lisbon

Sinn Fein Dáil leader Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin has today rejected Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin’s claim that that the Lisbon Treaty referendum “represents a new proposal and respects the will of Irish people”. The Cavan-Monaghan TD said the decision to “put exactly the same Treaty to the people again proved that Fianna Fáil has little regard for the will of the people.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said:

“Almost 900,000 people said No to the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008. Since then the government has failed to secure a single change to the text of the Treaty. The so-called legally binding guarantees do not alter the text of the treaty or its implications for Ireland or the EU.

“The government’s decision to put exactly the same Treaty to the people again proves that they have little regard for the will of the people

“To suggest that the so called guarantees represent any kind of meaningful response to the concerns of the electorate is simply untrue.

“Contrary to Minister Martin’s claim the government has not secured a permanent Commissioner for every country including Ireland. Rather they have secured a temporary stay of execution. The Lisbon Treaty proposal to reduce the size of the Commission remains and if the Treaty is ratified it is my firm belief that this provision will be implemented in 2014.

“The concerns of the Irish electorate and the millions of Europeans who oppose this Treaty can only be addressed if the Lisbon Treaty is defeated and a new and better Treaty is negotiated.”