Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I thank all Senators who contributed. There is possibly only one thing on which I agree with Senator Doherty and that is that in a democratic society everybody has the right to express his or her opinion. That is one of the fundamental rights we all enjoy as part of our democracy, and I agree very firmly with him on that. I also agree that whether people are Fianna Fáilers, Fine Gaelers, Troskyites or otherwise, they all have the right to express their view. What no citizen in a democracy has the right to do is to invent stories or truths. Truths are truths and facts are facts, and facts speak for themselves.

The reality is that this charter is a very important addition to European law. I say that because I had the honour of being the first and possibly the only Irish person to date to hold a human rights fellowship in the United Nations. It is very important on the international stage that we show what the Union stands for. The great benefit of the charter and of incorporating it in, and attaching it to, the treaty is that it makes more transparent than ever before those values, freedoms and realities which we, as democrats, whether we agree or disagree on Lisbon, hold true.

The Charter of Fundamental Rights is one of the central features of the Union. Unlike Senator Doherty, I find myself in complete agreement with the general secretary of IMPACT who described the charter as a prize which had been sought for many years. Unlike Senator Doherty, I sat through the long discussions in the Convention on the Future of Europe. Although I was not a member, I sat through the sessions on social Europe because I believe giving a social dimension to Europe is critically important. I am painfully aware that not everybody in the European Union and not everybody in the political groupings of Europe share the views the Senator and I have on the requirement of a social dimension to Europe. It would be very unwise to take for granted that an automatic improvement would be gained from renegotiation. We sought to reach a position of equality between the smaller and larger states in the negotiations and we cannot ask for any more in a democracy.

I am delighted the charter enjoys near full cross-party support. I especially acknowledge the very strong role the Labour Party has played in this. I mention, in particular, Proinsias De Rossa, MEP, who I got to know and respect even more than I did previously during the course of the convention. He was one of the people who very strongly articulated the cause of the charter. The charter is described as a prize by the general secretary of IMPACT while the general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation said he wanted the Lisbon treaty adopted quickly by member states with the introduction of the charter of fundamental rights becoming legally binding. I do not want to continuously harp back to Senator Doherty, but the reality is that John Monks knows more than most of us in this House about European labour law.

I agree with Senator Bradford that Fine Gael has put a specific focus in its documentation on the need to seek the support of the Irish people for this charter. It is No. 7 on Fine Gael's list of reasons to vote "Yes". Senators Bradford and Twomey are right to suggest that this issue has not been the subject of sufficient discussion on the positive side of the treaty debate. At the launch of its campaign, the Progressive Democrats acknowledged the positive role and importance of the charter and recognised that Des O'Malley was one of those who drafted it. Senator de Búrca rightly made the point that the charter is a glittering political prize for people of her political viewpoint. I explained in my opening statement that the strengthened status of the charter is a positive aspect of the Lisbon treaty. It has been argued that the charter does not introduce a raft of new changes. One should focus on the reiteration of rights, as well as responsibilities in respect of children, we already enjoy. We have been misled in this debate by those who deny that being more imaginative would not be as easy as it seems.

I wish to emphasise what Article 24.2 of the charter says about the rights of the child. A Senator spoke about the importance of children. One of the most extraordinary and mendacious arguments that has been made against the charter is the suggestion that the European Union and the democratic parties which represent the wider spectrum of people in Europe are somehow trying to do something in the charter to injure the child. This argument has not been made by Senator Doherty's party, I hasten to add, but by an extraordinary organisation that seems to have sprung out of nowhere. This suggestion is somehow insulting to democracy. Article 24.2 of the charter states that "in all actions relating to children, whether taken by public authorities or private institutions, the child's best interests must be a primary consideration". It is perverse to argue that the article in question somehow gives one the right to incarcerate a child. I do not aim these comments at Senator Doherty's party. He has not made the argument in question, which is being promoted in the interests of misleading the Irish people.

It injures and aggrieves me that there have been so many misrepresentations of the charter. I refer, for example, to the suggestion that abortion will somehow be introduced into this country on foot of the Lisbon treaty. It is to the great credit of Senator Doherty's colleague, Mary Lou McDonald, MEP, that she has consistently said throughout the campaign that the treaty has nothing to do with abortion. One or two Sinn Féin canvassers on the ground have mistakenly been dragged into this aspect of the debate. I would like to give credit where credit is due. When we talk about the charter, as when we talk about the treaty, we have a responsibility as democrats to focus on the facts rather than the imaginings of those who wish to demonise the work of the EU. One must admit, regardless of whether one agrees with the Lisbon treaty or the charter, that they result from the hard work of many people who are democrats. The treaty and the charter both come from conventions which were drawn up by elected representatives from the left, the right and the centre across Europe. The treaty, like the charter, deserves support.

My personal belief is that the charter is one of the prizes that will come our way if we vote "Yes". Senator Bradford made that point. There are other prizes too. We will get a more effective, efficient and democratic Union if we vote "Yes". We will have achieved all of that while at the same time protecting our own interests, such as our neutrality, our taxation policy and our positive position in respect of abortion. As someone who is strongly pro-life, I believe Ireland has a positive position on the right to life of the unborn child. I respect those who may take a different view. The reality is that the protection of our position is one of the prizes we will get, as a people, if we vote "Yes" to ratify the Lisbon treaty on Thursday, 12 June next. I thank the Members of the House for their interesting contributions.