Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

The problem is that the Government has agreed to hold a second referendum without putting the detail into the public domain, but why? The answer is that the Government does not have it, and it is telling us that it will not have it until later in 2009. How therefore does the Government know it will in any way resolve the substantive concerns that led people to vote "No" in June?

Declarations are not worth the paper they are written on as they are not legally binding. They are exactly what they are called — political declarations made by politicians with no legal status or force. They are like promises made by a Government at election time, sadly, more likely to be broken than implemented. Unless protocols are secured and ratified by all member states, guarantees as described by the Government are worthless.

On the issue of neutrality, even if this declaration were legally binding there would be huge questions about its value. The declaration refers to Ireland's "traditional policy of neutrality" which, given the role this State plays in assisting the transit of US troops to Iraq, would hardly instill confidence. It will do nothing to halt the drift towards militarisation of the EU, the enlargement of the EU's military tasks, and the establishment of the European Defence Agency. It will not prevent closer, so-called EU co-ordination with NATO.

The declaration on taxation changes nothing in the treaties. Unanimity in the Council is still required for tax harmonisation measures, but the Council will have the ability to bypass popular referenda in order to take such a step. This point was confirmed in a legal opinion secured by the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union. For the record, I will quote the legal opinion:

Article 48 expressly gives power to change the mechanism of voting and a ratification of this Article or the Treaty containing this Article by the Irish people in referendum gives authority in referendum for any subsequent change which complies with Article 48 without the necessity of further recourse to the people.

There is obviously a belief among EU leaders that a future Irish Government will be convinced to go along with such a move. A declaration, even if legally binding, would not change that. That is a crucial point. The authority of the Irish people to decide on this matter by referenda will be removed.

The Council conclusions on the issues of workers' rights and public services are deeply worrying. These issues have been totally ignored by the Government since the "No" vote, despite Sinn Féin and others insisting they were critical issues that had to be addressed. The Government and the Council seem to have recognised, belatedly, that they are important issues but the way in which they are dealt with is completely inadequate. The undermining of workers' pay and conditions has caused serious disquiet across the country. It is totally unacceptable that the Government has failed to secure a social progress clause to prevent the exploitation of workers in Ireland and across the EU. This is a missed opportunity.

The conclusions refer to ". . . public services, as an indispensable instrument of social and regional cohesion". Not only is this limiting in terms of what public services are, for the conclusions of the Council make it clear that EU leaders have absolutely no intention of halting or reversing the liberalisation of public services as provided for in the treaties.

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