Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

——Martin McGuinness spoke about the European project as a peace process. The Senator's colleagues who were knocking on the doors in Bray were talking about militarisation. The ultimate hypocrisy and dishonesty was in the final point of the Sinn Féin contribution tonight. Senator Doherty spoke about wanting to see Ireland at the heart of Europe. I may have lived in a parallel universe but I do not remember Sinn Féin ever advocating a "Yes" vote. I recall it opposing vigorously Ireland's bid to join the European Union and opposing vigorously the Single European Act, the Maastricht treaty, the Amsterdam treaty and every other treaty, including the Lisbon and Nice treaties. None of the these treaties is perfect but the reality is that no international treaty ever is. However, honest politicians at least accept this reality. Senator Doherty may come into this House and posit that he or his party supports Ireland's position in Europe but every Tom, Dick and Harry in the country knows Sinn Féin has opposed every single treaty tooth and nail. That is the reality.

I thank the contributors. Unfortunately time ran out and I did not have time to address some of the contributions in detail. Ireland is at a very pivotal point, as stated in the report and by many contributors. We must decide to stay with the European Union or decide to assign ourselves, somehow or other, to the sidelines. The latter decision would be a disaster for Ireland.