Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

"The Lisbon Treaty provides the Union with a stable and lasting institutional framework ... so that the Union will be able to fully concentrate on addressing the concrete challenges ahead, including globalisation and climate change." That is a quotation from the European Union Council meeting on 14 December 2007, after the treaty had been signed. I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche, and particularly the Taoiseach for the work he did on the constitutional treaty. I agree with him that this treaty contains 90% of what was in that treaty, much of which was good material.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. Its publication has been long anticipated but the Government has kept it under wraps like the third secret of Fatima until quite recently. However, many of the other elements of the referendum package remain under wraps. There is still no sign of a consolidated text, annotated text or a complete text. There is no sign of activity by the Referendum Commission, which was established on 6 March. The commission will play a key role in disseminating information on the substance of the Lisbon treaty. The commission is expected to operate for approximately 90 days before the referendum but four weeks have passed and its website remains blank.

Until today there was no sign of the promised White Paper, which was anticipated before the publication of the Bill. Presumably, the White Paper contains a substantial summary and analysis of the treaty. I do not know because I have just received a copy and I have not had an opportunity to examine it carefully. The White Paper is the Government's contribution in advance to informing the debate on particular legislation. It should have been published well in advance of this debate. This is most unsatisfactory. The Taoiseach has hummed and hawed about the date for the referendum and we were kept in the dark until today. After some prompting earlier, he finally and reluctantly announced the date. We are glad this has happened but we still do not have the wording of the amendment. Will the Minister of State consider publishing it? People at the public meetings I have attended want to know the wording they will vote on. We need to know the date and the wording. These are simple matters and it is not rocket science to deal with matters of this nature.

The Government has been in rag order since its accession nine months ago and nothing demonstrates this better than its dysfunctional approach to the preparations for this referendum. The making of laws in Parliament requires care and professionalism but making an amendment to the Constitution requires absolute care and professionalism. The citizens of Ireland who will vote in the referendum in approximately two months expect that the highest standards are observed in preparing and presenting it. They deserve no less because our Constitution contains the values and principles which guide our lives and our society. Alas, those high standards have not been met to date and time is running out.

The Bill before us makes provision for the 28th amendment to the Constitution. It seeks to amend Article 29 of the Constitution. The text of the referendum Bill is understandably complex like the treaty itself. I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs for their willingness to consult Opposition parties on finalising the text and I compliment the Labour Party's legal advisers on their constructive contribution over a period. The aims we had regarding the text of the legislation have been achieved to a considerable extent. Our aim was to have a wording that was as clear as possible and easy to read, that avoided unnecessary duplication of provisions and that included existing provisions while removing any unnecessary matter from Article 29.4. Those aims were largely achieved and I appreciate the fact that the Government was prepared to consider all suggestions in this regard.

I particularly welcome that the wording avoids duplication and removes unnecessary material by deleting Articles 29.4.97° and 29.4.11°. Article 29.4.9°, which relates to defence, will be replaced in the new wording while Article 29.4.11° on the patents convention is obsolete and will be removed. The wording of the new Article 29.4.10° reflects the continuity between the existing European Union and the Union post-Lisbon and the layout of the amendment is readable, particularly given the complexity of the matters involved, especially Article 29.4.14°. The parliamentary approval process contained in Articles 29.4.12° to 14°, inclusive, reflects a proposal made by the Labour Party during the drafting of the Amsterdam treaty to ensure full democratic scrutiny of the exercise of the EU options.

Article 29 has been amended to incorporate the Treaty of Rome 1957, the Single European Act 1986, the Treaty on European Union, signed at Maastricht in 1992, the Treaty of Amsterdam 1997 and the Treaty of Nice 2002. These treaties established the original European Economic Community — the forerunner of the European Union — in 1957 and moulded it progressively to its current structure of the European Union half a century later. Each of the five treaties was voted on by the people in successive referenda. On each occasion the treaties were ratified. The Treaty of Lisbon is the latest in a line of treaties to come before us for ratification. If Ireland or any other of the 27 member states rejects the treaty, it cannot come into force. Since Ireland is the only member state to require ratification by referendum, the ratification process is fraught with difficulties and, therefore, requires the greatest of care.

The phoney war is over and the formal debate has begun in the Oireachtas. Both the National Forum on Europe and the Joint Committee on European Affairs will take the debate to the people throughout the length and breadth of Ireland, which is most welcome. The Labour Party is also taking the referendum very seriously. We debated the substance of the Lisbon reform treaty at our annual conference in November 2007 in Wexford and voted overwhelmingly to campaign for a "Yes" vote. We have produced high quality literature to inform our members and to inform the public and we are holding a series of public meetings in the main urban centres in Ireland.

When the campaign begins next month, we will treat the referendum like an election and ensure all the units of the Labour Party are involved in canvassing the electorate and in ensuring that our members and supporters deliver a "Yes" vote. Ireland's interests are best served in Europe. An island country on the periphery of Europe cannot afford to be isolated in terms of society, culture or the economy. Those who oppose the Lisbon reform treaty must not only demonstrate it is bad for Ireland but also that the Treaty of Rome, the Single European Act, the Treaty of Maastricht, the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Nice were also bad for Ireland because these are the pillars on which the new edifice is built.

The same people who opposed the earlier treaties are using the same arguments they used during each treaty debate to assert that particular treaty would be the one that finally broke the camel's back. The Lisbon treaty is the end game, the doomsday treaty or the apocalypse now, according to the naysayers. How can any right-minded person believe that having got it wrong on five previous occasions using the same arguments that they will get it right this time? The more often they cry wolf and the wolf does not materialise, the more threadbare their admonitions and warnings become.

Not only has the European wolf not consumed this little island but Ireland has become a prosperous, equal and respected member of a European Union of 27 member states. We have progressed significantly through our association with the Union over the past 35 years. The old Irish proverb, "Ní neart go cur le chéile", is absolutely true in this case. It is difficult to conclude that more has been achieved towards implementing the aims and ideals of the 1916 Proclamation and the 1919 Democratic Programme through Ireland's 35-year association with Europe than had been achieved in the previous 50 years of isolated national independence.

The founding fathers of the Labour Party, James Connolly and James Larkin, were internationalists. They believed the progressive way forward was to build solidarity and equality between neighbouring countries and fellow workers in those countries. Neither they at the beginning of the 20th century nor the Labour Party at the beginning of the 21st century would have ever supported the narrow concept of sovereignty which isolated and suffocated Ireland for 50 years after the foundation of the State and which consigned our people to poverty, emigration and the tyranny of monopoly British capitalism until the European Union provided the vehicle for economic freedom.

The European project unites the people of Europe by democratic consent on the basis of shared values and in doing so the participating countries agree to pool and share sovereignty in the pursuit of peace, prosperity, stability and solidarity. At the same time the principles of subsidiary and proportionality ensure that matters which can be dealt with by the individual member states are left to the individual member states.

The Lisbon treaty starts by restating the values enshrined in the existing treaties and expanding on them. Article 2 of the Lisbon treaty states the internal values that will apply to the member states of the European Union:

The EU is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. These values are common to the member states in a society in which pluralism, non-discrimination, tolerance, justice, solidarity and equality between men and women prevail.

These are the internal values which apply between member states of the European Union. It is the bedrock in terms of the values on which the European Union is built and which has been restated and expanded in this new treaty.

Article 3(5) of the Lisbon treaty goes to the next level and states the future values the European Union will have in its external relations as follows:

In its relations with the wider world, the European Union shall uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens. It shall contribute to peace, security, the sustainable development of the earth, solidarity and natural respect among peoples, free and fair trade, eradication of poverty and the protection of human rights, in particular the rights of the child as well as the strict observance and the development of international law, including respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter.

These two statements of values constitute a magnificent foundation for the creation of a European Union of equal member states and for determining that Union's benevolent relationship with the rest of the world.

At every referendum since Ireland joined in 1972, dire warnings and predictions were given and made about what Europe would do to Ireland. However, Europe did not do any of these awful things. It did not reduce Ireland to a province of a European empire or super state. It did not enforce the conscription of young Irish men and women into a European army, as we heard so often. It did not force Ireland into aggressive imperialist wars. It did not bring about a disastrous fall in the nation's population — in fact the reverse has occurred. It did not cause wholescale unemployment or destroy the small Irish economy — again, the reverse has occurred. It did not undermine Irish culture or the Irish language; the Irish language is now an official language of the European Union. It did not put an end to trade union or workers' rights; they are firmly supported and enshrined in the charter of fundamental rights. It did not introduce abortion or euthanasia, nor can it.

All these predictions were made again and again during every treaty debate by those campaigning for a "No" vote. Every one has proved to be groundless and inaccurate. They are being made again by the same individuals and groups who are opposing the Lisbon reform treaty. They are just as unfounded, inaccurate and misleading today as they were when first made.

In 1972, the Labour Party campaigned against Ireland joining the European Economic Community, the EEC. The given wisdom in the Labour Party and the trade union movement at the time was that the powerful industrialised countries of Europe would destroy Ireland's weak protected industries, thereby causing widescale loss of jobs. However, a resounding 80% of the electorate voted for Europe.

Brendan Corish, the then leader of the Labour Party, immediately accepted the outcome, declaring that the people had spoken and that they had clearly decided that Ireland's future was with Europe. The Labour Party soon realised the benefits of the European Union and that our fears were groundless in the particular areas of concern. We re-assessed the situation in the light of Ireland's experience as a member of the European Economic Community. It proved to be a wise choice for Ireland to move from isolation on the periphery of Europe to collective decision-making at the heart of Europe. Since then, Irish citizens have voted democratically in referenda in every decade to approve every stage of the development of the EU to the present time.

The European Union has a long tradition of promoting rights in the workplace, including women's rights to equal pay, parental leave, working time and health and safety in the workplace, all of which have benefited Irish employees. The first action taken by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions was under the Treaty of Rome in 1974 to obtain equal pay for women. The European Union vindicated certain rights from the beginning.

The Common Agricultural Policy transformed Irish agriculture, providing farmers with a substantial transfer of EU funds and with incomes no longer dependent on Britain's cheap food policy and price monopoly. The education and training of our young people was hugely supported by the European Social Fund. A countrywide network of institutes of technology was established in the 1970s and 1980s with European money. They produced the young graduates with the high-tech expertise that made Ireland the European hub for so many international companies and so much foreign investment.

At the time of membership of the European Union, Ireland was by far the poorest of the nine member states. Ireland's gross domestic product was only 58% of the EU average in 1972. Today it is 130% of the EU average. The massive haemorrhage of our young people in search of work across the world has ceased and now the youth of Europe is attracted to our shores. A workforce of less than 1 million in 1972 now exceeds 2 million.

Clearly, membership of the EU has had a significant and positive impact on who, what and where we are at this stage in our history. The Lisbon reform treaty is not a bolt out of the blue but rather the latest in a line of treaties which have moulded the Union since its foundation in 1957. The Lisbon treaty is an amending or reforming treaty which seeks to make the EU institutions in an enlarged European Union more effective, transparent and answerable to the member states.

Under the Lisbon reform treaty, all member states, large and small, have exactly the same rights in an EU Commission reduced in size to ensure greater efficiency. Article 4 of the Lisbon treaty states clearly that the EU shall respect the equality of the member states as well as their national identities. All the law-making deliberations of the European Council of Ministers will take place in public for the first time. The directly elected European Parliament will have co-decision powers with the Council of Ministers and will have democratic control of the European budget for the first time.

Important new powers are given to national parliaments which will enable them to play a key role in the framing of policy and law making. A citizen's initiative will enable ordinary citizens to have important issues placed on the European Union agenda and they will have to be dealt with there. Each aspiring member state must adhere to the provisions of the United Nations Charter of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights and international law and have democratic institutions in place before it can join.

The Lisbon reform treaty will give effect to a new body of human, civil, social, cultural and workers' rights that will be binding in law. These are contained in the Charter of Fundamental Rights which will underpin all law-making in the European Union once the treaty is passed.

In addition, a social clause requires that social issues be taken into account when defining and implementing all policies. The treaty makes legal provision for social dialogue and recognition of the social partners. From a Labour Party point of view, these are important issues bearing in mind we started off with the European Economic Community, the Single European Act and the Common Market all of which placed emphasis on economic matters, the eurozone and so on. There is now a better balance in terms of the social and economic dimension written into this treaty.

I will now deal with the provisions of the Bill before us. The text of the referendum Bill is even more complex than the text of the treaty, which is understandable. The explanatory memorandum is helpful in providing the context of this treaty and in assisting us in interpreting the provisions. The Minister referred to Articles 10 and 11 which are key provisions. Under these articles ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon by the people in the forthcoming referendum would "ensure legal compatibility between the provisions of the Treaty and the Irish Constitution and would carry forward the concept of constitutional cover for laws, acts and measures necessitated by the obligations of EU membership". That is the standard and necessary statement of incorporation into Article 29.

Article 13 makes provision for Ireland to exercise the right to opt in or out of measures in the area of freedom, security and justice. Given the profound differences between the common law system of justice in Ireland and the UK and the legal system operating in mainland EU countries, these provisions are essential to avoid situations that could give rise to future constitutional conflict. However, Ireland's commitment to tackling cross-border crime and co-operating with EU police forces is asserted by a special declaration incorporated in the treaty which states that police co-operation is a priority and that Ireland will review its position after three years with a view to fully opting into the freedom, security and justice provisions if that is legally and operationally possible.

In the past 50 years Europe has been at peace with the world and with itself. The EU common foreign and security policy is firmly anchored in peacekeeping, peacemaking and humanitarian missions of a civil and military nature. The Petersberg Tasks have been extended in this treaty. The Lisbon reform treaty specifies that all missions must be in accordance with the United Nations charter and with international law.

Article 15 restates the existing prohibition inserted at the time of the referendum on the Nice treaty in 2002 in respect of Irish participation in any EU common defence structure that might be established in the future. It states: "The state shall not adopt a decision taken by the European Council to establish a common defence pursuant to Article 1.2 of the Treaty referred to in subsection 7 of this section or Article 1.49 of the Treaty referred to in subsection 10 of this section were that common defence would include the State." This is a welcome re-affirmation.

A policy of non-alignment and military neutrality is at the core of our security and defence policy. Ireland only engages in military missions under the triple lock mechanism of a UN Security Council mandate and Government and Dáil approval. Ireland's neutral status remains unchanged and our participation in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions such as those in Kosovo, the Lebanon and Chad will continue under the Lisbon reform treaty. Indeed, Ireland has a proud record of serving on peacekeeping, peacemaking and humanitarian missions abroad for 50 years under the UN mandate. Some 87 Irish soldiers have lost their lives serving on such missions. It is important that the principle of active military neutrality be redefined and restated in the context of European Union defence policy in a transparent way. Thus, the constitutional re-affirmation is exceedingly important.

The treaty creates new goals and challenges for member states. At the National Forum on Europe the Labour Party argued that the EU should take leadership of the great challenges of the day affecting humankind. Under the Lisbon reform treaty the EU has firmly placed itself as the leading player in tackling climate change and the sustainability of the planet. Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights states "a high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development". Likewise the Lisbon reform treaty commits the EU to become the world leader in Third World development, humanitarian aid and the eradication of global poverty.

The Labour Party believes that the Lisbon reform treaty contains worthy challenges and objectives for the 21st century. In terms of the Bill, I suggest there are two areas where, perhaps, the Minister could have added to the Bill. The Lisbon reform treaty gives, for the first time, a new, significantly enhanced role to national parliaments in the law making process at European Union level. It also provides for citizen initiatives which will enable one million citizens to have an issue of importance placed on the European Union agenda and that this will have to be dealt with by the institutions of the European Union. It is important to emphasise that these new democratic initiatives bring the workings and institutions of the European Union closer to the people of the member states and to their public representatives elected to democratic parliaments. I suggest to the Minister that the best way of doing this would be to write this into the Irish Constitution by way of amendment to Article 29. This would be a constitutional reminder to the Irish people and parliamentarians of the extra democratic powers contained in the treaty. This would help to ensure these powers would be utilised to the maximum.

Also, given the new powers granted to the parliaments, we will have to review the way we do business in this House. The new role for the Dáil and Seanad will have to examined bearing in mind their central role in law-making and decision-making in the context of the European Union. I am not sure this matter can be adequately dealt with in committee. I believe it will have to be dealt with in the full light of the Dáil Chamber. However, this is perhaps a matter we can discuss in the future. It would be valuable if this new power were highlighted in a permanent fashion in the form of an amendment to the Constitution through this legislation. Perhaps the Minister will on Committee Stage consider the merits of my suggestion in the context of the new role for national parliaments and citizens initiatives.

The Labour Party believes the Lisbon reform treaty reflects more than any previous treaty its ethos and values. We believe it will be good for Ireland. We are totally opposed to an Ireland on the periphery and isolated from Europe and to an Ireland that exports 90% of its produce. Previously we had the Single Market. We now have a single European market which is a horse of a different colour. The treaty is deserving of our full support and I, too, commend it to the House.

See this speech in context