Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I am grateful for the chance to speak on this important treaty. I welcome that the Government has named the date of 12 June for the referendum. I had reservations about the date not being set and the fact it was not doing any good for the "Yes" campaign. I am pleased the referendum on children's rights will not be held on the same day, as this would have created more confusion than might already be the case.

We, in the Fine Gael party, have taken the lead in campaigning on this important treaty. We started our campaign a few months ago. Since then we have organised many public meetings throughout the country and leaflet drops in our constituencies. We have a proud record of supporting all previous European treaty campaigns and will do so again on this occasion.

In a nutshell, the treaty is necessary to cater for an expanded Europe of 27 member states with a population of 500 million. I will be voting "Yes" for the treaty because it will enhance human rights within the European Union. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union will become legally binding for the first time. This is a positive move because it will add a new level of protection to the rights of the people of Ireland and elsewhere in the European Union. These rights include basic human rights such as human dignity, the right to life, the right to the integrity of the person, the prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the prohibition of slavery and forced labour. The charter is very detailed and includes 54 articles which cover economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to choose an occupation and the right to engage in work.

In practical terms the Charter of Fundamental Rights ensures that if a person feels his or her rights are not adequately protected in his or her own country by the government in its implementation of EU law, he or she will have the opportunity to appeal the case to the European Court of Justice. The rights contained in the charter are not new, in that Ireland has already signed up to the Charter of Fundamental Rights for the EU. However, people are afforded a greater level of protection under the reform treaty.

Europe has been excellent for Ireland throughout our years of membership. As the Minister of State outlined, the European Union opened up significant opportunities for Ireland which helped sow the seeds for the Celtic tiger of the past ten years. We have received billions of euro in Structural Funds. Ireland has been in receipt of European funds since we joined the EEC in 1973. This has helped us build our vital infrastructure, such as the rail system and the valuable road network. If we did not receive this funding we would be in a much more backward situation currently. That is acknowledged in the signage on motorways and railway lines which bear the European Union flag.

Farmers have also benefited greatly from the payments made under the Common Agricultural Policy process. I accept that frustration is evident among farmers regarding the level of red tape and bureaucracy with which they must comply but the system overall has benefited farmers and the country in general.

The Common Market in Europe provided a framework through which Irish business has thrived. We have much more confidence in our own abilities in business, as well as access to new markets and greater freedom of movement of goods within Europe. We have received all of these benefits through our membership of the European Union. In the 1960s and 1970s we were a small open economy which experienced high unemployment and mass emigration and we were totally dependent on the United Kingdom. We managed to reverse that situation by virtue of our membership of the European Union. Inward investment improved significantly also. Many multinational companies from America decided to set up their European headquarters here mainly to gain easy access to European markets. That would not have been possible were it not for our EU membership.

The passing of the treaty will further the cause of democracy in Europe. If national parliaments are unhappy with decisions made in Brussels, for the first time they will be able to refer their case to the European Court of Justice, especially when the Commission is seen to overstep its brief. The concept of EU citizenship is confirmed and developed in the treaty. Greater rights are accorded to citizens, allowing them to appeal to the European Court of Justice on various issues. The new citizens' initiative compels the Commission to take action once 1 million signatures have been received from a significant number of member states. This will help people feel they have more involvement with the decision making of the European Union and will allow for a greater sense of ownership.

The Fine Gael Party has a proud tradition in Europe. We are aligned to the European People's Party, the largest party in Europe. We are pro-European and have always supported the various EU treaties such the Maastricht treaty, the Nice treaty and now the EU reform treaty. Our party leader, Deputy Kenny, has organised numerous party meetings and information campaigns. Our party organisation is committed to putting the national interest above the party interest. Our message to all those people who are unhappy with the current state of the economy and other matters is to hold back and not to punish the Government on this occasion but to wait until the next European and local elections when they will get their chance to make their protest vote against the Government. They should not use the opportunity of the referendum on the reform treaty to vote "No" against the Government to hurt Fianna Fáil because it will not do the country any good. It is not in the national interest to vote "No" to this treaty.

Decision making will be faster as a result of endorsing the reform treaty. The expansion of the EU to 27 states makes it impossible to achieve unanimous backing from all members on areas of policy. The change towards qualified majority voting will mean a majority of the countries and a majority of the residents must vote in favour of a proposal in place of the current voting system. This will ensure larger states cannot dominate the process or bully the smaller states into making decisions with which they may be unhappy. The qualified majority voting system will help to protect everybody's rights.

This voting system will only apply to areas such as the environment and energy, security and justice and urgent humanitarian aid. These are areas where one member state acting on its own can have minimal influence, but where 27 states united can have a major impact. Ireland's veto in areas such as taxation and neutrality will still apply. One of the myths that has been propagated is that the treaty deals with abortion. That is untrue.

The appointment of an EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs will provide Europe for the first time with a strong and united voice speaking on our behalf in world affairs. Deputy Varadkar alluded to the famous quotation from Henry Kissinger: "Who do I call when I want to call Europe?" There will now be one contact in the person of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs. This will strengthen the position of the European Union and enhance its role on the world stage. In the run up to the war in Iraq, Europe was divided as to what approach should be taken and this allowed the Americans to determine policy which should not happen in future. A united voice will also be critical in trade negotiations with the World Trade Organisation and other global bodies. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs will have a diplomatic service at his disposal, which will enable him and his staff campaign on behalf of the European Union and represent the position of Europe in a better way than is the case at present.

Irish soldiers will have a greater role in peacekeeping missions. Irish soldiers have taken part in a number of European Union and United Nations peacekeeping missions, including in Bosnia and Kosovo. The Government recently deployed troops to Chad as part of a peacekeeping operation to protect refugees fleeing the terrible conflict taking place in Darfur, Sudan.

Cuireadh an díospóireacht ar athló.

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