Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I compliment the Minister of State at the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey, on the useful meetings he is holding throughout the country on his drugs strategy. It allows people to have an involvement in the most serious social issue of our day.

I thank Senator Joe O'Reilly for his compliments on working together in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, of which he is a distinguished member. Senator Ann Ormonde is also well regarded in her work there and has made a major impact in it. It is a useful forum for Irish parliamentarians, as is the European Parliament.

We are facing an important decision on 12 June. We all have a tremendous involvement in the Lisbon reform treaty. It is a monumental decision for the Irish people. Each citizen has an individual decision to make. It is a credit to the authors of our Constitution, especially Eamon de Valera, to foresee that Ireland would join international bodies in the future but that the people should decide. The Irish electorate will decide on the future development of the EU for 500 million people. It is an enormous responsibility. Ireland is the only country out of 27 member states that will have a referendum on the Lisbon reform treaty. The Minister of State will know from his visits to Europe that the one question that always comes up is whether the referendum will be passed.

One of the most important provisions of the treaty is the recognition of the EU as a single legal personality, requiring the EU's accession to the European Convention on Human Rights. The convention has stood the test of time as a comprehensive yet practical protection of human rights. While it has high aspirations and protects fundamental rights, it is not simply a declaration.

The establishment of a court to protect individuals from human rights violations is unique among international conventions on human rights as it gives the individual an active role in the international arena. Ms Ann Power has recently been appointed as the Irish judge to the European Court of Human Rights by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I wish her every success in her role.

The effectiveness of the convention is evidenced by the improvements in member states' domestic legislation and judicial decisions which have directly resulted from decisions of the European Court of Human Rights. The accession of the EU to the convention will mean the institutions of the EU, when making and implementing EU law, will be subject to the same judicial control in respect of human rights as the individual state parties to the convention. An individual EU citizen will be able to make a complaint to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the EU. Citizens will of course retain the right to make a complaint against their own state.

Despite the efforts of the "No" vote campaigners, it has been conclusively established that the proposed treaty poses no threat to our sovereignty in many important areas, including taxation. This was confirmed in this House by Mr. Hans-Gert Pöttering, MEP, President of the European Parliament, and by Mr. José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission.

Vague claims such as a "No" vote will protect workers add nothing to people's understanding of the treaty. Sinn Féin's claim that the treaty erodes Ireland's neutrality is nonsense. It is a simple fact that our Constitution prohibits participation in any common defence. The treaty does not change that; it maintains the member state veto on defence matters. However, it adds to the debate that a national political party such as Sinn Féin is participating in the democratic process and putting forward ideas to debate this issue, which I welcome. If everyone were singing from the same hymn sheet there would be no real debate. Therefore, I commend a political party that decides on a particular course of action. That party will then put its case to the electorate on 12 June and the electorate will have the final say.

This is not a party political issue, rather it is an individual issue. Political parties will have made up their minds and the majority of them have gone in the same direction. Ultimately, the treaty is an individual contract between each voter and the European Union. I believe that, on reflection, the people will decide the European Union is worth supporting on this occasion.

Furthermore, claims by groups such as Libertas that the Lisbon treaty would create a serious democratic deficit are simply untrue. For example, any analysis of the treaty will rapidly conclude the claim by Libertas that the treaty would make national parliaments subordinate to the Union is quite simply nonsense. In fact, the opposite is the case. The treaty gives national parliaments more power in European matters. All draft legislation must go directly to national parliaments giving them more time to consider Commission proposals. National parliaments will have a so-called yellow card procedure giving them the right to request a review of draft legislative Acts. Parliaments will also have a right of veto in certain matters for the first time. The reform treaty will bring national parliaments directly into the European Union decision-making process.

This House will have an enhanced role because of the Government decision to propose this treaty and I commend the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, in this regard. The Minister of State, Deputy Roche, made it clear in statements in recent days that the Dáil and Seanad will have the role of examining European legislation as it is published, which means that for the first time we will have a say in European legislation. This is of great benefit to individual citizens and of vital interest to this House.

The main implications of the treaty have been discussed often but particularly in light of recent polls indicating a low level of knowledge of the treaty, there is nothing to be lost by again summarising the treaty. The implications would be as follows: a new voting system in the Council of Ministers to make decision making more effective; a greater role for national parliaments in the Union's activities; a rotating system of membership of the European Commission; a full-time president of the European Council to co-ordinate and chair European Union summit meetings and appointed for a term of two and a half years; a high representative for foreign affairs and security policy who will bring greater coherence to the Union's approach to foreign policy; and the Charter of Fundamental Rights is given legally binding status, which I outlined at the start of my speech.

More specifically on the Bill before the House, which represents the seventh proposed constitutional amendment on European integration, it is worth noting that the "Yes" vote in European referendums has been consistently higher in referendums with higher turnouts. The disappointingly low turnout of 38.4% in the first Nice treaty referendum meant that we were almost obliged to put the issue to the people again. That treaty was decisively endorsed by a more representative portion of the electorate in the second referendum. However, in the case of the Lisbon treaty, it is either passed or rejected. I do not believe it is possible to have a second bite at this cherry. The other 26 member states have agreed to the reform treaty. If we decide to reject it, the treaty cannot be amended to satisfy objections we might have and the reform treaty would fall.

As soon as this Bill is passed and the text of the amendments finalised the referendum campaign can begin in earnest. The most important objective to be achieved is a high turnout and I hope all sides in the debate will encourage people to vote on 12 June. The sign of a true democracy is participation by the people and if the treaty is endorsed, as I hope it will be, I expect that will be in a referendum with a turnout which can be said to be a fair representation of a well-informed Irish electorate. Contrary to some assertions, hard copies of the text of the treaty are available to the public throughout the country in all public libraries and on many authoritative websites, and information on the treaty is freely available.

The proposed amendment to the Constitution is quite straightforward and is in line with previous amendments which have facilitated our participation in European integration. There is a clear prohibition on Irish participation in an EU common defence in the proposed subsection 15. The proposed subsection 11 is modelled on the existing subsection 10, which has been in place for many years and ensures compatibility between the Constitution and the EU. It is important to note that this applies only to laws, acts, and measures "necessitated by the obligations" of European Union membership. It is nonsense to claim the treaty will have unlimited supremacy over our Constitution. Subsections 12 to 14 allow for the opt-outs secured by Ireland in the treaty negotiations.

I look forward to the acceptance of this Bill by the Oireachtas and to the ongoing and developing debate on the Lisbon treaty. It is time for Ireland to take on a role we have held previously with respect and distinction, namely, leaders in Europe. I commend the Bill to the House and the treaty to the people of Ireland. It is far better for Ireland to be inside looking out than outside looking in and to be there to have a say in the future of Europe. It is imperative for the future progress of this country and I will say as much to the Irish Farmers Association, IFA. What control would we have over the European Commission if we vote "No" on 12 June? The answer is "Very little"; our influence will have waned. I make this appeal not in the interests of any political party, not on behalf of the Government, but on behalf of the people of Ireland.