Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

As Senator Cummins pointed out, we can argue about these issues in another context and at another time. This debate is much too important to allow that type of political chicanery and opportunism to creep into it. It is grave disservice to the country that these issues are being introduced into the debate. They have nothing to do with it. Members of both sides of this House have already criticised opponents of the treaty for introducing irrelevancies and claiming they had an impact in the first referendum.

Another matter needs to be dealt with. Senator Bannon referred to the other countries in Europe and asked why Ireland, alone of those countries, is holding a referendum. I am a member of the Forum for Europe and I came from the forum to this debate, as did my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Kitt. At the forum we listened with great interest to the Finnish Prime Minister. He was asked by a member of the Green Party why he thought it necessary that the Finnish Parliament should ratify the treaty when Ireland had rejected it. The Prime Minister correctly responded that it was a matter for the sovereign people of Finland to decide how they would proceed with the Nice treaty. It was equally the sovereign right of the people of Ireland to decide how they would proceed with the ratification or otherwise of the treaty. We have taken a decision which we are now putting before the people with amendments. The fact that other countries in the European Union have not held a referendum is a flawed argument and it is also a patronising approach to the other member states who have, under their constitutions, taken decisions as they saw fit.