Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)

There is also another spectre haunting Europe, and that is a lack of democracy. The right of the people to be consulted through referenda in respect of changes in the Constitution is a very important safeguard to democracy in our State. It is something people in other EU states would like to have, given the lack of democracy in how the EU functions. This right has been fundamentally undermined and turned into something of a joke by the actions of successive Governments and the parties of the political establishment. Following the votes on the Lisbon and Nice treaties, the verdict of the people was rejected by the establishment parties of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party, and we were forced to vote again, with all sorts of threats, blackmail and outright lies on the consequences of voting "No" a second time. While the Labour Party leader was assuring citizens he respected their vote, at the same he was assuring the US ambassador that there would be a second vote.

There cannot be a second bite of the cherry on the fiscal pact, so the Government has taken Johnny Giles's advice and is getting the retaliation in first. The only argument the Government has for a "Yes" vote is a blackmail clause inserted in the ESM treaty. It has convinced and colluded in blackmailing its own citizens. If this is not the case, then it should have no problem delaying ratification of the Article 136 amendment and the ESM treaty until after the people have had their say.

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