Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

I am looking at a slavish personality on the other side of the House.

Gollum slavishly follows his leaders, is at their beck and call, does as they wish and fulfils the tasks set for him by his masters. The other side of his character is quite humane, capable of listening to people and has love and hope. It is a pity that better side is not reflected in the Minister for Foreign Affairs or the Taoiseach. As they have often told us, the EU is based upon equal partnership. If that is true then they should not be slavishly crawling around after EU leaders. Gollum can be rejected as a personality for the Taoiseach and the Minister. To do so, they must have the balls to stand up for the Irish people. They must show backbone. In the past seven months Sinn Féin has consistently argued that the Government and EU leaders must respect the Irish "No" vote and set out how they intend to deal with Irish concerns about a new treaty. Once again the Minister, Deputy Martin, ignored the result of that vote and bowed to EU bureaucrats and the arrogance of many EU leaders who believe they can bully the people into submission. I realise the Minister, Deputy Martin, understands Irish history and that the Taoiseach shares an interest in it. Will you give these people a lesson in Irish history? The more someone tries to bully, threaten, harass or repress us the more likely we are to resist. If the Minister conveyed that message he would not be obliged slavishly to follow them or be at their beck and call. He could make the case that the Irish viewpoint is the correct one, as we are equal partners.

We have led the way with the required new treaty. We published and distributed a detailed proposal, in various languages, setting out the way with which we believe these issues can be dealt. I can provide copies to the Ministers present in case they do not have one. We did this to try to be constructive and focus the attention of EU leaders and the Government on a new treaty. Unfortunately Fianna Fáil and the Green Party have shown little appetite for addressing the concerns of the people to date. Instead, they are slowly but surely attempting to prepare the ground for a second referendum on the Lisbon treaty. Shame on the Government. The Minister and his party have the gall to lecture others about respecting democracy at home and abroad. In particular, shame on the Green Party which correctly harangued Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats in Government in the past when they decided to put the Nice treaty forward in a second referendum. Where is that backbone now? It is definitely lost among the Green Party Deputies and Ministers.

The preparation for a second Lisbon treaty referendum is obvious through the public comments of Ministers. Their failure to bring forward any real proposals to address Irish concerns is evident through their actions at the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union, which was established in the House in recent weeks. Sinn Féin has worked constructively with the committee, but we have voiced our concerns repeatedly at the work-plan of the committee, the lack of balance among the invited speakers and the complete failure to engage with the public, which was the stated rationale behind the committee when it was established.

Instead, we have seen efforts to frame a bogus debate on Ireland's membership of the EU for several weeks. Not only does this miss the point as all parties believe Ireland's place is at the heart of Europe, but it is dangerous. It sends out mixed messages about Ireland's membership of the EU at a time of economic uncertainty which is deeply reckless. There is no threat to Ireland's membership of the EU. Let me repeat, and perhaps the Minister, Deputy Martin, can repeat when he is summing up, that Ireland's membership of the EU is not under threat by the "No" vote in the Lisbon treaty.

In the past week there was a worrying announcement by Fianna Fáil Deputy Seán Ardagh that the Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution will attempt to reverse or bypass the Coughlan judgment from 2000, which ensured there must be a balanced debate in the broadcast media during a referendum campaign. Having lost the argument during a fair referendum Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are now trying to manipulate their way through a second referendum. The people will not tolerate such underhand tactics. Sinn Féin will defend the democratic right to a fair referendum, confirmed by the Coughlan judgment.

The Taoiseach has stated it is his aim to identify by December the necessary steps which need to be taken next year. The necessary steps remain obvious to me. The Lisbon treaty has been rejected by the people of the State and, therefore, cannot be ratified. This message should be sent loud and clear to EU leaders and this could still happen. However, I do not believe the people across from me in the House have the backbone to do this, which is a pity.

Instead of trying to find a loophole, the Taoiseach should insist the Lisbon treaty is set aside and a new treaty re-negotiated, hopefully along the lines of our proposal. We do not have the be all and end all for the treaty, but it must be negotiated to protect Ireland's interests. These interests were reflected in the debate during the Lisbon treaty campaign and in the people's decision to reject the treaty. They seek a better deal for Ireland and Europe. I do not believe there is an appetite among EU leaders for a new treaty, nor do I believe is there such an appetite on the Government benches. That is just hard luck. I remember as a child, when dinner was served one had to eat it. In this case the dinner is served, the treaty has been rejected and now the Government must re-negotiate and produce a better deal and a better dinner. In the past six months the Government has ignored the wishes of the people at its own peril. It is clear what needs to be done. The Government must listen to what the people have said and must be constructive. Sinn Féin published its document in July. I have not seen anyone else publish such a comprehensive document detailing how we can progress to a new treaty which reflects and protects the interests of Ireland in the EU in future.

Mar atá ráite agam, tá sé soiléir cad is gá a dhéanamh. Ba cheart don Taoiseach, go háirithe, seasamh suas ar son muintir na hÉireann agus toil an phobail a chosaint. Ba chóir dó léiriú le Airí, Príomh-Airí agus Taoisigh tíortha eile na hEorpa nach bhfuilimid sásta glacadh le conradh Liospóin. Tá conradh nua de dhíth orainn agus de dhíth ar an tAontas ina iomlán. Tá súil agam go dtuigeann an Rialtas é sin, go bhfuil sé soiléir. Go dtí seo, is cosúil nach dtuigeann an Rialtas cad go díreach a tharla nuair a vótáil pobal na hÉireann i gcoinne an chonartha. Tá deis ag an Rialtas, ag an gcéad chruinniú eile de Chomhairle na hEorpa i mí na Nollag, léiriú dos na gcomhaltaí eile nach bhfuil pobal na hÉireann sásta leis an bplean a chuireadh os ár gcomhair i gConradh Liospóin. Táimid ag lorg bealach eile. Ba cheart dúinn déanamh cinnte de go bhfuil flaitheas na hÉireann cosanta, go bhfuil neodracht na hÉireann cosanta agus go bhfuil cearta oibrithe na hÉireann, agus na hEorpa ar fad, cosanta. Ní chóir go dtiocfadh íslú ar na cearta sin, mar a bhí léirithe sa chonradh úd.

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