Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government strongly supported the Lisbon treaty as an agreement that would allow the European Union to work more effectively in the interests of the member states, including Ireland. In this we were joined by a number of political parties and representative groups, and we are very grateful for their support. We are deeply disappointed with the outcome of the referendum. The campaign was hard-fought and the people have made their decision, which must be respected.

The Government set out last December to provide the electorate with information on the treaty. An explanatory pamphlet was published in December and a detailed 22-page guide to the treaty was published in February. This guide was distributed to all households in the country in April. These two documents were also distributed to all public libraries, citizens advice centres and Departments. A comprehensive White Paper on the treaty was published in April containing a detailed analysis of the treaty's provisions. This too was distributed to public libraries and copies were made available to the public on request. A dedicated website, www.reformtreaty.ie, was established which contained comprehensive information about the treaty and copies of all the above publications.

The Government established the independent Referendum Commission. Under the Referendum Act 2001, the Referendum Commission is expected to prepare statements containing a general explanation of the subject matter of the referendum and to publish and distribute these statements. The Referendum Commission was provided with a budget of €5 million. This represented an increase of more than 20% over the amount provided to the commission for its work on the second Nice referendum.

My party held up to 60 meetings across the country to heighten awareness and understanding of the treaty. In addition, we participated in the meetings of the National Forum on Europe, with other political parties and in the series of public meetings organised by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs. The Deputy's question relates to the Government's role, but many political parties distributed leaflets. In the weeks before the vote, there was intensive canvassing to maximise support for the treaty at the referendum.

We now need to reflect on the way forward for Ireland and for the European Union, but this will take time. There is a need to avoid snap judgments and hasty decisions at what is a very important point in the history of Ireland's hugely successful engagement with the European Union, which has been a central pillar of our national development since 1973.

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