Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

The IFA certainly built up a great deal of animosity towards Lisbon as the bogeyman of Europe. They came in on the last day but at that stage the sense among farming families appeared to be one of opposition and, unfortunately, the IFA could not turn back the tide as quickly as they had wished or had imagined they could.

One of the most significant issues I picked up on was immigration. It is a serious issue that comes up repeatedly. Somebody made the point earlier that immigration was "lurking". I do not believe it is lurking, rather that it is very much on its hind legs and about to cause severe problems unless we deal with it. Clearly, there is a disconnect between the European Union, the European project and the vast swathe of the inner city working class community. I noticed that most of the press releases for the "Yes" side were made out for The Irish Times. In many ways we were talking to ourselves and were not targeting the tabloids or trying to get our message to working class areas. We failed as a political group. All parties and all the European institutions failed and will continue to fail unless we recognise the challenges of immigration.

I imagine that most readers of The Irish Times supported the treaty but that paper connects with only a certain number of people. Such was the paper's enthusiasm and then its frustration when the campaign was not going in the way desired that I would not have been surprised to see the headline: "The People Have Spoken — The Bastards" , after the catch line of a former American politician. The Irish Times is talking to itself and, in a way, we, the Members of this House, are talking to ourselves. We must address that point.

There is an attitude of intolerance towards people who voted "No". We cannot dismiss them and we must address their fears. I do not believe for one moment that the Irish are racist. In Ringsend, a deacon will shortly be ordained who is welcomed with open arms in that area and is much loved by residents there. I do not believe for one minute that the Irish are racist, but we must speed up the appeals process. When people have no further recourse to the law, we must deport them quickly. Multiculturalism is not the way forward and strict integration is the best option. When one considers the examples of France and England, one will realise diversity has brought considerable problems. Ireland must address this matter. The European Union has received a wake-up call and if it does not heed it, we will be in serious trouble.

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