Ann Ormonde (Fianna Fail)

The Minister is most welcome. I wish him well in spearheading this campaign for the referendum, which will be held on 2 October. Today's debate on the Lisbon treaty is the result of months of work by the Government and some of the most senior officials in the country to ensure the concerns of Irish people about Europe are addressed. We have had ample opportunities to understand the reasons the first referendum on the Lisbon treaty failed.

There have been tireless negotiations involving Ireland and its European partners to deal with the issues which arose during the previous referendum campaign. My colleagues, the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Martin, spearheaded an all-out effort by the Government and our diplomats to ensure we received the most robust guarantees. What has been achieved is significant. I place on the record of the House my congratulations not only to the Minister and the Taoiseach but to all those who worked behind the scenes to ensure we achieved an acceptable package for Ireland.

One of the concerns was that we would lose a Commissioner. We have secured our Commissioner. We will stay in control of our tax policy. Irish neutrality will be unaffected. We will remain in control of sensitive social issues. Workers' rights will be protected in this country and throughout Europe. Part of that package will include the protection of the right to life, family and education, which will become legally binding once the treaty comes into effect.

It is important that we communicate and engage with the public. I welcome recent initiatives by the Government to ensure that people can easily access information about the treaty, the guarantees and European Union policy. I am delighted to hear the Minister has launched two websites, www.eumatters.ie and www.lisbontreaty.ie, and it is important that they are up and running. The first site explains the workings of the European Union. It is important that the language we use is free from the jargon and bureaucracy that cut us off from Europe during the campaign on the previous referendum. However, while the sites exist on the Internet we should remember that not everyone has a computer.

I also hear that the Minister has launched an information postcard that will be sent to every house in the country. I look forward to seeing that. It should be the first step in opening people's minds to the discussion. The postcard can be seen as the launch of the debate. I also look forward to the distribution of the White Paper on the Lisbon treaty in libraries and other locations throughout the country. I have only scanned through it. We should encourage people to put it on their shelves. The debate has begun and people should be discussing the treaty around the lunch table and the dinner table. We should immediately begin to knock on doors. The debate starts today and the Minister has asked us to get on with things from here.

I have scanned the Lisbon treaty and the White Paper which deal with a whole range of issues, including how Union membership has affected Ireland, the legal guarantees, community values, the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and fundamental rights, issues I would not want to have to discuss in detail with the public. Of particular importance is, I believe, how the EU maintains its links with citizens. There has been a perception heretofore that Europe was out there and that it made decisions in which we had no say. For this reason, I welcome the concept of subsidiarity and that we will decide what is right for Ireland.

There have been many directives from the EU in regard to water control, farming, heritage and so on. Many people with whom I have spoken are concerned that we had no say in such matters and that they were decided by the EU. I am glad I will be in a position to tell them that will not happen now. It is important we re-engage with the people on these issues. We want a democratic Europe where the institutions are made simpler in terms of how they work and the language they use and which will be more accessible to everybody who wants to know what is going on in Europe.

During the previous referendum campaign Ireland did not have the problems it has today such as the economic crisis and failure of the banking system. There are huge challenges ahead. The shape of Europe is changing going forward and we must consider whether we want to be marginalised or part of the new thinking. While I agree we must address issues of security, cross border security and crime I hope that much of what we do, in terms of how we do our own business, will be done at home. People are concerned that because we are small we are being absorbed by Europe. While they accept this is acceptable when it comes to addressing bigger issues they believe in terms of day to day issues that we have lost our identity to Europe.

I look forward to working with the Minister and Government on this campaign and to debating the future role of Ireland in Europe. This legislation is a first step in that regard. We must be at the heart of Europe and we must have a platform for our prosperity. We have had our period of reflection and obtained our guarantees on the key issues. We must now look at how we can connect with the public in this regard. There is a responsibility on all of us, including Members of this House, to look at how this can be done. Many issues being debated in Europe could be brought to the floor of this House as a way of connecting with the public. I see nothing wrong with Members of the European Parliament regularly attending this House to debate whatever is the issue of the day. We could make more use of this Chamber in this way.

We have the basis for a success story but we must go out and sell it. There will be many divergent views on this subject and we must ensure we are good at our job. We must assimilate the information, understand it and explain it to people in simple language. We will need to know how to explain every detail in a simple manner to ensure the public supports us in wanting to be at the heart of Europe. I wish the Minister well. I hope the media will give more balanced coverage in this regard from here on. All political parties need to go out and sell this treaty to the people; it is the only way forward for our success story in Ireland.