John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I join other party leaders in expressing disappointment at the result of the Lisbon treaty referendum. However, as an Irish person, I am very proud that this was the only country in the European Union to hold a referendum on this issue and it is regrettable that other countries did not do so. It points to the disconnect about which some of the previous speakers spoke between the European project and the peoples of Europe, a point to which I will return. We must respect that vote and maintain the highest respect for those who chose, democratically, to vote "No" in this referendum. We cannot afford to be in any way patronising. I have heard it said in recent days that those who voted "No" did not know for what they were voting. That may be true in some cases, but the same could equally be said of those who voted "Yes". There was not only a democratic deficit, but an information deficit as well. Perhaps those of us on the "Yes" side should hold our hands up and admit we could have done better in that regard.

As leader of the Green Party, I am proud that my party examined this issue in detail. We held a comprehensive internal party debate and party members were very well informed about it. We held a vote and 63% of the party membership voted in favour of the Lisbon treaty. That is not to say those who voted "Yes" were convinced by everything in the treaty, but on balance they believed it was a good deal for Ireland and Europe.

One of the reasons I put forward and repeated during the course of the campaign was support for the Charter of Fundamental Rights. Several years ago I had doubts about the Charter of Fundamental Rights because I felt that perhaps it was not fully judicable. However, when I heard such people as Mr. John Palmer, Mr. Gerard Hogan and Mr. Tony Coughlan — all of whom come from different perspectives — say that it was, then, as someone interested in the whole question of human rights and fundamental rights like many in the Green Party, I agreed this charter should be supported by all democrats.

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