Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

It is with great enthusiasm that I rise to support this Bill, which will enable us to ratify the Lisbon treaty if this constitutional amendment is passed by the Irish people in the forthcoming referendum in June.

The arguments about Ireland's role and future in the European Union always come up for scrutiny when one of these treaties is presented to us. We have had five successive treaties since we became fully-fledged members of Europe in 1973 and I am glad that the wisdom of the Irish people has always prevailed when it comes to deciding whether Europe is good for Ireland. The ranting and raving of the sceptics and the naysayers has consistently been superseded by the will of the Irish people, who clearly recognise that the advantages of our full and committed membership of the EU simply cannot be denied. It is without question that EU membership has been extremely good for Ireland and all our citizens. What we need is a rational debate on the Lisbon treaty over the next few weeks. We do not want hysteria.

In the past, we have had to suffer the silly scaremongering tactics deployed by those who would wish to see us revert to the dark days when we were little more than a primitive, isolated backwater on the periphery of Europe. I need hardly point out that all the misinformation surrounding those debates turned out to be spurious and without foundation. However, the cynics will never let the facts get in the way of a good, sensational story. The days before our EU membership were bleak, inward-looking days when we had no prospects and were ravaged by unemployment and economic stagnation. We witnessed the awful haemorrhaging of Irish people from these shores because there were no opportunities of any description at home and the outlook was exceedingly grim. Those were sad days when we sat on the periphery. We endured unemployment, poor infrastructure, high borrowings, lack of foreign investment and high foreign debt. It is almost impossible to believe that those conditions were endemic here less than 35 years ago. These words, which were so commonly heard not long ago, have virtually disappeared from our national vocabulary and we should all be very grateful for that.

In just 35 years, we have completely reversed our position. Gone are the days of our insular existence. Ireland has embraced the European ideal with great gusto and our commitment to the great European project has transformed this island beyond measure. Nobody could have imagined that we would be transformed from a hopeless case to one of the most dynamic members of the EU. The figures in support of our membership speak for themselves. Our openness and connection to Europe have provided the foundation for the extraordinary prosperity we enjoy today. We have truly moved beyond being insular and introverted and have become a highly respected and active global player.

Our membership of the EU has had a reforming and progressive impact on this island. We are considerably more enlightened as a nation as we incorporate the principles of equal opportunity, consumer protection, environmental protection and sustainable development into our social policy objectives. Our transport and telecommunications have been liberalised and we have successfully introduced the concept of social partnership to very positive effect. We cannot overstate the enormous economic benefits that have accrued to this country as a direct result of our membership of the EU. In purely financial terms, the net receipts flowing into Ireland amounted to a staggering €40 billion between 1973 and 2006. Our unrestricted access to the large and lucrative Single Market has been successfully exploited and we have established ourselves as the gateway to Europe. We are enjoying unbridled export-led market success. Today, 90% of our gross domestic product is traded. We would do well to remember that as late as 1960 we were almost totally dependent on the UK but today, the UK accounts for just 17% of those exports. This is a remarkable achievement for this island.

We have had dramatic success in attracting foreign direct investment to Ireland and our EU membership has been a key factor in stimulating that valuable investment. More than 1,000 overseas companies are now located here in Ireland and almost two thirds of our exports originate in these multinational firms. These companies employ more than 135,000 people directly; their annual payrolls amount to €15 billion and they contribute corporation taxes of approximately €2.8 billion. Our membership of the European monetary union has provided us with monetary stability and the facility of the common currency, and the euro has become the second most important reserve currency in the world today.

The days of the brain drain have been consigned to history and we are now a country of net immigration. Our unemployment rate is among the lowest in Europe. These facts speak for themselves. They represent a graphic illustration of how Ireland has embraced the vision of Europe. Instead of being marginalised, Ireland is now an active and influential player on the wider European stage. We have been a net beneficiary of all that the European concept has to offer and continues to offer. The Irish proverb "Ní neart go cur le chéile" is apt here. Now that the EU has enlarged to accommodate 27 states, we have achieved real global capacity and weight. We are operating from a population base of approximately 493 million people, which is the third largest in the world after China and India and is almost twice the size of the US. It is the world's single richest market. Collectively, we are the largest trader in terms of the share of global trade and we carry substantial weight in global trade negotiations and setting global standards.

As we all know, we are in the throes of world trade talks at present. This round of talks has been going on in Geneva for the past six years and they are fraught with difficulty. Were we not known as a fully participating, constructive member of the EU, Ireland would not be at that negotiating table today. In the context of the Lisbon treaty, a resounding "yes" vote is critical if we are to continue to pursue our negotiations from a position of real strength and credibility. We must guarantee that our capacity to negotiate all our interests at EU level is enhanced and not undermined. We have a responsibility as good Europeans to assume that sense of shared destiny. We have a responsibility to work in unison and in a concerted manner to ensure that the interests of all our citizens are defended and truly copper-fastened.

Irish farmers are deeply concerned about this current round of WTO talks and the strategy which is being adopted by the Commissioner for External Trade, Peter Mandelson. Indeed, at the last meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers, 20 of the 27 Ministers spoke against Commissioner Mandelson and his particular strategy. We must bear in mind that the Irish beef industry is the fourth largest in the world and it must be protected with all the might we have at our disposal. I reiterate that Ireland must be fully committed to the European ideal and the vision of the EU if we are to have our voice heard clearly at the negotiating table. Any half-hearted or selective association with the EU will be perceived to be a selfish, À la carte-type attitude, and this would surely be detrimental to our interests.

As a farmer, I believe that anything other than a definite "yes" vote in this referendum would have devastating consequences for Irish farmers and rural communities. The Common Agricultural Policy and its extensive support of the agriculture sector must be acknowledged as being extremely generous. Receipts for agriculture and rural development have accounted for almost three quarters of the total flow of EU funds to Ireland. From 2007 to 2013, Irish farmers and rural communities will receive €12.2 billion in financial support from the EU for the operation of the annual single farm payment and various other programmes, including REPS, on-farm investment, reforestation initiatives and the disadvantaged area programme. However, CAP is due to be reviewed in the next six to eight months under the French Presidency of the EU and a number of serious issues will need to be addressed. It is only with our full and active commitment to Europe that we can continue to be taken seriously when this important review is undertaken. Ireland just cannot afford to send out any negative signals about our overall support for the principles of active EU membership.

These are the reasons I am foursquare behind the Twenty-eight Amendment of the Constitution Bill. I want to see an Ireland that continues to play a meaningful part in European and global affairs, a mature nation that takes its responsibilities seriously as part of the greater European ideal, a country that can continue to benefit and be enhanced by full European membership, and a State that can continue to flourish in Europe while at the same time maintaining its own unique spirit and identity. I am confident that a "Yes" vote on the Lisbon treaty will secure our prosperity, improve the way we do business, and continue to elevate the quality of life on this island.

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