Mary Henry (Independent)

This has been a fascinating debate and I congratulate the Leader of the House for her imagination in initiating it. I am also very pleased that Senator Maurice Hayes is present here today because he has put so much work into the Forum on Europe, at which I had the pleasure of being a delegate. The views expressed here today have been almost unanimously in favour of promoting a "Yes" vote in this proposed referendum and I am also in favour of a "Yes" vote.

It is extraordinary to think the EU, which has been a most benign institution, should suddenly be governed by a malign constitution. I cannot see such a scenario happening. The promotion of the idea that people are looking for a federal Europe is mistaken. Any democratic deficit that occurs could be because we have not inspired sufficient people within the various member states to take an interest in EU affairs.

The economic, social and cultural success of the EU has been spoken about at great length and I agree with all those who said it was extraordinarily important for Irish women. Women's rights in Ireland were very modest when Ireland joined the EEC in 1973. Without the rights which were established through our membership of the EU, Irish women would not have made the progress that they did.

The European constitution could go further, particularly in the areas of health, education and research. Under the Lisbon Agenda, Europe is setting itself up as a prime location for research. Co-operation could possibly have been emphasised more within the various chapters. While the right to health care is enshrined, public health is promoted and the sharing of research is stressed, more rights could have been given to individuals across all of Europe, rather than treating them on a country-by-country basis. I know that improvements have been made for people who have residency in countries and people living in border areas but it could have gone much further. I am a great promoter of the Bologna process whereby third level education, mobility and establishment of degrees and third level diplomas are brought forward. However, I would have liked to have seen more developments in this area.

We should not worry about the military situation. In the wake of the tenth anniversary of the terrible massacre at Srebenica, how can any of us feel anything other than dismayed that Europe was not in a position to do more than it did? I am far more concerned about US soldiers travelling through Shannon Airport to fight in an illegal war in Iraq and the possibility that prisoners are being covertly taken through the airport as well.

We should not be too sanguine about the fact that many other people will vote "No" in referenda on the constitution before we must vote. I travelled through France the other day and saw a sign which stated "Vote no to Tony Blair's Europe". If there is as much confusion in France about that, I would be very careful about what they are saying about opinion polls there.