Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputy Seán Connick.

I am pleased to contribute to the debate on the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008, which sets out the legal basis of the Lisbon treaty referendum, which will be put to the Irish people on 12 June. I acknowledge the importance of Ireland's participation in the EU since 1973 and the enormous contribution that membership and participation has made to Ireland's social and economic parameters since 1973.

Listening to Deputy Ó Caoláin state that the "Yes" campaign has been characterised by deception is rich coming from him and Sinn Féin. That party has opposed every European treaty referendum to date. For the argument on the Lisbon treaty to have any credibility, Sinn Féin should have the courage to say that it got it wrong in the past, that it underestimated the importance of Ireland's involvement and participation in the European Union and understated the benefits that Ireland has derived from membership and participation in the Union. Its arguments would have greater credibility if it acknowledged it got it wrong many times in the past in terms of Ireland's involvement in the European Union. If there has been any deception to date in this campaign, it has been on the "No" side, which has been characterised by conspiracies, falsehoods and ignorance of what the treaty states. It has completely disregarded the assurances given by the European Commission, the President, individual Commissioners and our Government. It is a source of great pride to me that it was the Irish Government, which held the Presidency of the European Union in 2004, that successfully concluded the negotiation of the draft constitutional treaty, which forms the basis of the Lisbon treaty as it has emerged. It has been put on the record by the Taoiseach and others that 90% or more of the contents of the Lisbon treaty derive from the constitutional treaty which the Irish Presidency secured agreement on in June 2004. That is not something we should hide but rather we should be proud of it. There have been changes since and those have been clearly articulated in the campaign thus far. It is important to have this debate in the context of our overwhelmingly positive contribution since 1973.

I take issue with some of the criticisms that have been made of the Lisbon treaty. The number of Commissioners will be two thirds the number of member states, totalling 18 Commissioners. It is an enormous sacrifice for countries the size of France, the UK and Germany to relinquish the automatic right they have to a Commissioner. It is not very long ago since those countries had two Commissioners each while smaller countries such as Ireland had one. As larger countries in the European Union, their sacrifice is much greater in that they are agreeing to relinquish their automatic right to have two Commissioners. The "No" side has consistently ignored the fact that the treaty recognises, for the first time, the role of national parliaments in the conduct of European affairs. It significantly enhances the role of the European Parliament by providing co-decision making with the Council in a number of areas. It is important that a President of the European Council will be appointed for a two and a half yearly term, with the possibility of his or her time in office being extended for a total of five years. This would provide continuity in terms of the European Commission being represented in all its international affairs.

The charter of fundamental rights, which is being given legal recognition under the treaty, is also a significant improvement and must be commended. Many of those on the "no" side have talked about the common foreign and security policy and the common security and defence policy, completely ignoring the fact that participation in any mission will be voluntary for every member state. They ignore the fact that Ireland's neutrality is copperfastened in this treaty, which provides recognition of our constitutional provisions in this regard. They also refer to the solidarity arrangements, whereby in the event of a member state being attacked other EU countries have the right, if they choose, to come to its assistance. I see nothing wrong with that. If Ireland came under attack at some future date, for instance, we would all like to believe that our neighbours and friends in the European Union would come to our assistance. The view has long been proffered by opponents of European engagement and the European project that Ireland's neutrality would end. I am very proud that our military personnel are participating in humanitarian missions in Chad and are saving lives.

It should be reaffirmed too that unanimity and the right of veto is retained in all sensitive areas. Deputy Ó Caoláin was disingenuous in what he said on taxation. Ireland will retain a right of veto on any proposed changes to corporation tax rates, and to suggest otherwise is wrong. At odds with the facts also is the assertion that in some way the adoption of this treaty may lead to the introduction of abortion in Ireland. Members will know that Ireland has secured a number of protocols in previous treaties, which apply to the Lisbon treaty, particularly as regards Article 43.3 of the Constitution. These stipulate clearly that nothing in the treaties or any Acts modifying or supplementing them will affect the application in Ireland of Article 43.3 of the Constitution as regards respect for the right to life of the unborn.

On modernising and changing decision-making structures that will be brought about by the adoption of the Lisbon treaty, the double-majority voting system, which will be introduced in 2014, provides an important safeguard for smaller member states. It effectively means that the large European states cannot gang up on the smaller countries and impose decisions that we would not support. The requirement for 55% of countries to support measures under qualified majority voting, QMV, representing 65% of the population, effectively means that 15 of the current 27 member states must agree on a particular initiative under QMV before it can be adopted, and those countries must represent 65% of the population. That is a very important safeguard for small countries. It enshrines the equality of member states in the decision-making process in the European Union and I very much welcome this.

The essential point of the treaty is that it copperfastens the view that 27 member states, working together and collectively, on issues such as climate change, the WTO negotiations and the security of future energy supplies, are much more effective. Our bargaining strength is enhanced significantly when we act as a bloc of 27 member states. The European Union is now a bloc of 500 million people. The Single Market has allowed us to break free from the shackles of economic dependence on the UK and has provided us with tremendous opportunities which many Irish businesses and entrepreneurs have seized on enthusiastically and with great success since Ireland joined the EEC. The European Union is the most affluent bloc of consumers in the world, with its 500 million people.

It is important that all parties play a constructive and positive role in this campaign. The Joint Committee on European Affairs will be held in Cork on Thursday night next and I encourage as many people as possible to attend and participate in the debate. I call on the Irish people to vote, as they have done in the past, in favour of the treaty in this referendum, to enhance and copperfasten Ireland's role as an important member of the European Union.

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