There is a coincidence of interests involved in Ireland voting "Yes" for the ratification of the treaty. It is in our own interests to allow negotiations with the ten applicant states now deemed eligible by the European Union to be ready to conclude their negotiations for full membership within the timescale envisaged, that is, by the end of this year. We have an internationalised, open and competitive economy which depends for its continued growth on access to markets where we can sell our goods and services. Our economic history confirms that restricted markets in the past meant a restricted number of jobs fuelled by the historical legacy of structural unemployment, under-investment and mass emigration.