Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

We will see how that works out the next time, maybe the smile will be on the other side of our faces.

After the campaign the Government undertook significant research to find out what caused people who might otherwise have voted "Yes" to drift into the "No" camp. These included the abortion issue, which had been covered in the Maastricht treaty, social and ethical issues. Militarisation and taxation were important and the loss of influence through the loss of a Commissioner. This reflects a lack of understanding of the EU institutions and the roles of the Commission, the Council of Ministers, the EU Council and the European Court of Justice. Some believed that without a Commissioner we would not have influence. Notwithstanding that, I met many who felt there were too many rules, regulations and directives coming from Europe and the fewer Commissioners, the smaller the body of rules and directives. That point was lost in the debate.

The work of our committee on European affairs, and particularly that of the Sub-committee on Ireland's Future in Europe, helped us to develop a model to ensure that we get over this information deficit. It was also helpful in identifying the price that we will pay if we fail to ratify the treaty. Some suggest that there is no price to pay but there is. Paul Rellis of Microsoft and representatives of other multinationals who came before the committee said that if Ireland failed to ratify the treaty there would be implications for foreign direct investment because the lack of certainty from an investor's point of view would affect our capacity not just to create jobs but to retain the jobs we have. That was going to impact on our capacity not just to create jobs but to retain the jobs we already have.

There are reforms necessary within this House and they can be studied again at a later stage. All Oireachtas Members must be encouraged to take on a more active role in EU issues, and regular debates in this House will ultimately lead to a greater level of understanding in what goes on within the European institutions.

This is our chance to regain a central role as committed Europeans, gaining for our country through active participation and decision making. We must show leadership and move into this to a point where we do not feel fearful. We must bring certainty to our position as a leader rather than a follower in Europe and we must retain an active participatory role in shaping the future of the European Union. We must protect our advances, co-operate to resolve our difficulties and stand proud as an equal in a Union of diverse nations sharing common goals and objectives, and working to resolve differences within a framework based on the rule of law and set out and updated in the Lisbon treaty.

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