Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)

I concur with the remarks of Deputies Costello, Timmins and Breen and the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, which referred to the absolute need to put aside political differences, squabbling and varying positions on the economy in the context of this very important debate, Bill and the referendum we face on 2 October. We must work together, co-operate and show absolute commitment to ensure the ratification of the treaty which is fundamental, not only for the 4.2 million people living in the country but also for the 500 million people living throughout the continent of Europe who are part of the EU 27 members states. It is crucial that we show co-operation with and commitment to that cause and put our differences to one side.

It needs to be said that nothing has changed in the Lisbon treaty and it would be dishonest to suggest otherwise. We should not shy away from the fact that the people are being asked to vote on what is essentially the same treaty as was voted on last year. The treaty is unchanged although the legal guarantees have clarified aspects of it. I hope they have allayed fears that were aroused last year during the course of the first Lisbon referendum campaign. However, they do not change the content of the treaty.

On the other hand, something has fundamentally changed in this country since the last referendum. The world in which we live has changed utterly since June 2008. Ireland is heading toward a situation where half a million people will be unemployed by the end of this year and it would be irresponsible of us as public representatives and Members of this House to ignore that significant fact. We, the Irish people, have a right to change our minds on the Lisbon treaty, particularly in the context of the economic catastrophe in which we find ourselves today. It is only common sense to give the Irish people an opportunity to change their minds in light of the current economic situation. We have not changed the Lisbon treaty but the conditions and the context in which we will be voting on this treaty are a thousand light years away from the economic conditions of June 2008.

I welcome the guarantees negotiated by the Government and by our esteemed officials in the Department of Foreign Affairs, and I welcome their incorporation into the Bill. I commend those involved on ensuring that it happened. The legal guarantees as espoused in the Bill address most of the concerns expressed by the people and by my constituents whom I canvassed for a "Yes" vote in 2008. They also reflect the concerns that were highlighted by the Millward Brown research carried out in the wake of the referendum last year. Along with my colleague, Deputy Joe Costello, I participated in 45 to 50 meetings of the Sub-Committee on Ireland's Future in the European Union. I am well aware of the serious reservations and doubts expressed on a range of issues in advance of the last referendum. It would be foolish to deny that these concerns were deeply felt, that they were close to the hearts of many people and they deserved to be addressed by public representatives and by the Government. The guarantees which have been secured address these concerns by clarifying areas of ambiguity and affording people the opportunity to vote for this treaty in the certain knowledge that it will not adversely affect the specific interests of the Irish people with regard to taxation, ethical and social issues and Irish neutrality and the concern about the loss of the permanent Irish EU Commissioner. These legal guarantees are very important in the context of the Millward Brown research. Referenda are blunt instruments and it would be a very unwise politician who would purport to look at a "No" vote and explain how it came about. However, the results of the research show the main issues of concern. A total of 39% of those who voted "No" believed the loss of a Commissioner was very important when it came to making up their mind on how to vote. A total of 32% felt it was somewhat important. On the issue of abortion, 33% believed it was very important and 33% believed it was somewhat important. Similarly, on corporation tax, 34% regarded it as important and 38% as somewhat important. On neutrality, a very significant 47% regarded it as very important and 35% regarded it as somewhat important. The guarantees which were negotiated very specifically and methodically address these concerns head-on and they provide a new context in which to ask the Irish people to vote again.

When the Irish Government went to the European Council and asked for these legal guarantees in response to the concerns and issues that were raised during the last Lisbon referendum campaign, our European partners answered in the affirmative in a resounding fashion. I sincerely hope we will respond with a similar positive answer when we go to the polls in October.

The economic context is very important. We are living in a very different world now, 13 months on. Even more important than these clarifications in the legal guarantees is the dramatically changed economic situation in Ireland. We can no longer afford the luxury of saying "No" to our most important economic partner. This is not scaremongering nor bullying but rather it is a reality check. Europe is the major recipient of Irish exports and we rely on Europe for our economic prosperity. If we are to claw our way out of the catastrophic recession, it will be due, in no small part, to our membership of the European Union and all the attendant advantages and benefits that go with it.

Unemployment has reached 11.9%. The number seeking job-seeker's allowance has increased by 100,000 in the past year. In May 2008, 100 people were loosing their jobs each day and today, 400 people are loosing their jobs. The context has changed completely. Taxes are down by 17%. The Government deficit at €7 billion is almost three times what it was a year ago when we voted on this treaty. We are in dire economic straits and we need Europe's help to get out of it.

Europe's contribution to the success of Ireland's economy in the past is not insignificant. The European Central Bank has loaned approximately €39 billion to Irish retail banks. Any small amount of credit flowing into the economy from banks is due directly to the European Central Bank and we need to acknowledge this fact. Ireland has received €68 billion in transfer payments from the EU since we joined it. We have seen a market of 500 million people open up to Irish products and Irish services. The average income in Ireland has gone from 70% of the EU average in 1973 to 120% in 2008. We need to be at the centre of Europe now more than ever. The EU is essential to our economic recovery as it will bring about certainty to our place in Europe, re-assuring domestic and foreign companies. It will bring confidence to those who create jobs, both indigenous business and overseas investors and it will send a strong message that we are an integral part of the Common Market.

I suggest we listen to the opinion of Paul Rellis of Microsoft and the chamber of commerce, who came before the joint committee and told us this. We should listen to IBEC, ISME and all the organisations that deal with employers and investment and that deal significantly with job creation. We should take the word of Chambers Ireland and the various chambers of commerce throughout the country. All of them will echo the same message. This is in our national and economic interest. Everybody knows that. The Taoiseach has said it, and Deputy Enda Kenny repeated it this morning during Leaders' Questions. The only issue people are concerned about right now are jobs and more jobs. We should not cut off our nose to spite our face.

As a small island country on the fringes of Europe we face major global challenges, and I want to touch on a few of them. We live in an increasingly globalised world where all of the big players work together as significant economic blocs. Europe must challenge in the face of global competitiveness. We must compete with China, India, South America, Brazil, Argentina and all of those developing and growing economies and we cannot do it on our own. Our only chance is to do it as part of a strong and influential political and economic bloc such as the European Union.

We are in a unique position because ours is a pooling of sovereign states. In most other unions across the world or in cases of co-operation between states in particular parts of the world, they are done by the inter-governmental model. We have a very democratic decision-making process in the European Union that enables us to work with our partners, retaining our individual identity and our sovereignty while pooling in those areas where we must compete and challenge. That is extremely important in the context of what is happening across the world.

On the issue of international crime, for example, we have a major problem. We have been debating a gangland Bill in this House for the past two days and we are all conscious of the fact that criminals operating in Ireland - drug dealers and so on - operate as part of an international network. There are Irish gangs based in Spain and elsewhere. We must tackle that problem, and the Justice and Home Affairs element of the Lisbon treaty is essential in that regard.

I will point to some examples of where the process of co-operation with our European partners has been held up and we have been unable to deal with international crime. We have failed to implement the EU-US extradition and mutual legal assistance agreements, to give one example. There is also the issue of the European evidence warrant, which has been stalled. We have failed in our task to step up cross-border co-operation and, in particular, combat terrorism and cross-border crime. They are just some examples of where the rules of unanimity have prevented the European Union co-operating and prevented Ireland from benefiting from that co-operation. We must start thinking in those terms to ensure that our interests are served best by co-operation.

Similarly, on the question of climate change, there is not much Ireland can do on its own to tackle CO2 emissions. It would be a needle in a haystack escapade but as part of the European Union we can do that. We can do it through our co-operation, which will be enhanced via the Lisbon treaty.

On energy security, one of the biggest challenges facing us on this planet, and particularly in the European Union, is that we have different supply lines and we are reliant on countries that can essentially switch off the tap in the morning, so to speak. Where do we go if that happens? We will have a greater legal capacity to act in the area of energy security through Article 194 of the Lisbon treaty. We must enable that. It is in our interests to do so.

On a variety of other spheres, peacekeeping has already been referred to by the Minister of State, Deputy Dick Roche. In terms of tackling world poverty, it is not all about self-interest. We have a role to play and Irish people are benevolent and committed to the idea of tackling poverty in the Third World, and we have a better chance of achieving that through co-operation with our partners.

What needs to happen in Ireland? To be honest, we need to stop pussy-footing around this issue. It is time for a stark realisation here that it is time to wake up and smell the coffee in terms of our place in Europe and our role in the European Union. We need Europe. We are part of Europe. We freely chose to join Europe, the EEC, in 1973. That was our free choice and we now need to start living up to our responsibilities within the European Union.

The fallacy emerged during the last referendum campaign that Ireland can go it alone and that we can show those big, bad, nasty Europeans what we are made of. A fantasy emerged that those bullying Europeans will try to hoodwink us into whimpering submissiveness, that they would pull our strings and undermine our independence and our sovereignty. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gay Mitchell MEP repeatedly said during the last campaign - unfortunately, I do not know if the message got through - that Ireland only became fully sovereign when we joined the European Union. That is so true.

The attitude that developed during the last Lisbon referendum campaign was Alice in Wonderland nonsense. We, the Irish people, must start living in the real world - a world where Ireland and Europe face huge global challenges together. Ireland, a small sovereign state, needs the extended hand of friendship. We live in a globalised world where the big players call the shots. We can be a partner of a big player through the European Union or, on the other hand, we can choose to walk away from it. That is the choice facing us but we must be sure that if we turn our backs on the EU, it will not be the fully committed 26 member states which are integrated and working hand in hand in the European Union who will lose out. It will be the small state of 4 million people on the margins of Europe that will miss out on the opportunity to shape Europe's future and, in so doing, shape its own destiny.

We must establish that we, the Irish people, want to be part of the real world where our people can benefit from partnership with other sovereign countries. To turn our backs on that opportunity at a time of economic crisis such as the one we face would be an act of fantasy.

We must answer our calling in this country and shape our destiny. We must secure a "Yes" vote for Lisbon to enhance our place in Europe, improve the way the EU works, make the EU more democratic and make it deliver better for us. Most importantly, let us secure the future of our children, our children's children and future generations because ultimately that is the legacy upon which we will be tested.

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