Tom McEllistrim (Kerry North, Fianna Fail)

If our experience of canvassing for the Lisbon treaty referendum teaches us anything, it should be that the people have relatively little understanding of the structures and procedures of the European Union. Many people I met while canvassing were not familiar with the three pillars of the Union — the Parliament, the Commission and the Council of Ministers. When I tried to explain that structure on the doorsteps, I was often confronted with opinions and assumptions that had little or nothing to do with the Lisbon treaty. Many people I met told me they did not know anything about it. Some of them did not intend to vote because they were confused. Many of those who were planning to vote told me they were going to vote "No" as a result of their confusion. As the post mortem continues, we hear more and more about the factors that led to such a strong "No" vote. As the Taoiseach said yesterday, one of the great falsehoods — there was no legal basis for it — was the idea that Ireland would keep its Commissioner if it rejected the treaty.

During the campaign I found it necessary to explain the structures, rules and procedures of the European Union which the treaty proposed to change. That is not easy to do on the doorstep. Reasoned and reasonable debate on matters of this nature cannot be fostered without a better understanding by society of the workings of our political systems. Debate and discussion on such matters should not be confined to the last month or two before a referendum. In the last couple of years great strides have been made in our schools to improve the standard of political and social education. The availability of such courses at post-primary level should be expanded. I propose that civic, political and social education programmes, including a module on European studies, be taught up to leaving certificate level. They are already being taught up to junior certificate level. Such a move would ensure future generations will be better informed when they reach voting age.

The referendum is over. We need to move on by recognising that we can learn not only from the result, but also from the experience of the campaign. We must find ways of involving people of all ages in engagement in the political system, even in a small way, if we are to raise the level of understanding of our political systems. This is a question not only for Ireland but for the European Union as a whole. We should broaden the systems in place such as the Forum on Europe and develop new systems of educating the public on political and social affairs in a manner that engages as many as possible on an ongoing basis. That is the right thing to do, regardless of whether we have another referendum. The better informed we are, the better the decisions we will make and the less likely we will be to be taken in by spurious arguments on either side of any future debate. Our democracy can only improve in such circumstances.

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