Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

I, too, welcome this legislation and the opportunity to speak on it. The main purpose of it is to give legal effect to the provisions of the Lisbon treaty and to provide for other related matters. We have to deal with the matter by amending the European Communities Act 1972.

As other speakers said, the Lisbon treaty was ratified by the Irish people on 2 October with a large turnout of 59% of the electorate and a strong "Yes" vote by two thirds of those who voted, namely 67% as against 33% who voted "No". That was very welcome and provided a strong indication of where people stood on this issue. It followed 15 to 16 months of soul searching, campaigning and analysis to reach that position. We must acknowledge that the campaign on this occasion was much different from that on the last occasion.

I congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs on the manner in which they were upfront in campaigning and led from the front on the issue, which was very welcome. I acknowledge all the other contributions made by the other Opposition parties, which campaigned very strongly, by the trade union movement, which strongly supported the campaign which was notable on this occasion, and by the farming community, which took an early strong robust position on the campaign. That support was topped off with the campaigns by various sectors of civic society. There is a lesson to be learned from that as to how we move forward in the future.

The European Council will hold a summit meeting on 29 and 30 October in Brussels. In this legislation the Government is tying up the loose ends to ensure that when the Taoiseach meets his EU colleagues next week he will have the instruments of ratification all ready to be deposited.

With regard to the Lisbon treaty, the legal guarantees on taxation, security and defence and the right to life, family and education, the declaration of workers' rights and the national declaration by Ireland make up the package of proposals which will be associated with Ireland's instrument of ratification. The Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009, which is currently before the Dáil, spells out the restrictive terms for Ireland's participation in the European Defence Agency and in permanent structural co-operation. These are key new elements in the Lisbon treaty. The entire package is a unique blend. It contains substantial treaty issues, guarantees, assurances, a solemn declaration and a national declaration by Ireland.

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