Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I want to thank the Irish people for engaging in the debate and for the high voter turnout on this treaty. We must reflect on the results. I thank Deputy Micheál Martin for his meeting last Monday and wish the Taoiseach and his Ministers well in the quest for a solution.

People appear to have voted "No" for a wide variety of reasons and one cannot point to one issue. There was much scaremongering on the "No" side on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, taxation and neutrality. There was a suggestion from the "No" side that we could get a better deal by voting "No". The fact is that Ireland was party to this treaty. We have been given assurances on issues such as abortion, neutrality and taxation, and there is no panacea. Lisbon, in effect, was plan B.

The "Yes" side's argument was much more difficult because the Lisbon treaty did not seek to do anything radical. Rather, it was a document which sought to accommodate a 27-member EU that could be run efficiently and effectively. It was a document that was necessary for an expanded EU and made the Union more democratic. While I welcome the engagement of all the political parties — the majority of which were in favour of a "Yes" vote — Fine Gael is playing the blame game here today. Deputy Bannon, for instance, has said in this House exactly the opposite to what really happened in Country Longford. I have been asked to say this by my colleague. A good campaign was run in Longford and the Taoiseach visited the county and canvassed with Fianna Fáil supporters. Unlike Fianna Fáil, Deputy Bannon never even put up a poster, but I am not going to get into the blame game. I believe we should not do so but instead go forward united because the whole world is watching us. We need to focus on what we can do from here. There is no single message because of the enormous range of issues raised on the "No" side and the major differences between the campaigning groups. We need time to reflect on what the result of the referendum means for Ireland and its future direction. A majority of member states have already fully ratified the treaty. They have a right to say where they want this to go and we cannot dictate to them.

There is a lack of knowledge about the institutions of Europe and people need to be better informed. This is a fundamental reason that many people voted "No". There is a disconnect between the institutions and the Irish public. Business people feel particularly disconnected with the amount of bureaucracy and legislation that comes down the line from Europe. I believe that Ireland is too zealous in implementing EU regulations unlike some other member states. In many cases people said they voted "No" because they were not sure what the treaty contained.

Yesterday the Taoiseach stated that for 35 years much of Ireland's place in the international arena has been realised through membership of the European Union. Throughout that time, the people have been largely comfortable with the overall direction of the Union. While I respect the decision of the Irish people last Thursday, I believe the EU has been the most effective and advanced response to globalisation. If the train is leaving, we cannot afford to miss it.

The rejection of the Lisbon treaty means that Ireland must examine where it is going and consult and engage with those who voted "No". Most commentators agree Ireland has benefited from its engagement with Europe, but I am not sure the Irish electorate or those who campaigned for a "No" vote were aware of how much so.

The Ireland of 2008 is unrecognisable to the small inward looking country that first joined the EEC in 1973. The European Coal and Steel Community, established in 1952, was to help economic growth and cement peace between France and Germany, historic enemies. It worked well, with iron production increasing fourfold during the 1950s. When coal production declined, the ECSC made provision to retrain hundreds of thousands of affected miners. It was the systems of social management such as early retirement, mobility grants and training that greatly helped in times of economic crises. At the same time in Ireland, thousands were forced to leave their families, wives and children to seek work across the water. Ireland's only way forward is in the European Union.

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