Pearse Doherty (Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir O'Toole as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom.

Bheinn i bhfad níos sásta mura mbeadh an díospóireacht seo ar siúl sa Seanad anocht. Níor éist an Rialtas, áfach, agus tá muid ar ais anois ag an phointe chéanna ag a raibh muid anuraidh, ag déileáil le reachtaíocht leis an reifreann chun an conradh céanna a chur os comhair an phobail agus ag iarraidh orthu vótáil ar an chaipéis chéanna nach bhfuil athrú ar bith déanta ann. Is mór an trua go bhfuil muid ag an phointe seo ach nuair atá Rialtas i réim, is féidir leis rudaí mar sin a dhéanamh, ach cé go bhfuil an Rialtas in ann rud a dhéanamh, ní ionann sin agus a rá gur ceart é a dhéanamh. Sin í an cheist faoin ábhar seo atá muid a phlé anocht.

The Government has announced the referendum date for the second referendum and on 2 October the people will go to the polls for a second time to vote on the Lisbon treaty. On 12 June 2008 almost 1 million people gave the Government their verdict on the Lisbon treaty. By rejecting the treaty, they gave the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs a strong and unequivocal mandate upon which to negotiate a better deal for Ireland and the EU with their European counterparts.

The people wanted substantial change to the existing treaty. We wanted a better deal, a new treaty that contains the policy and political direction necessary to deliver a better Europe, a Europe that is democratic and accountable, that promotes workers' rights and protects public services, a Europe that is positive and progressive. As the global financial crisis began to unfold and the recession in Ireland deepened, we also wanted a new treaty that would challenge the failed policies of deregulation, centralisation and unfettered markets, the fingerprints of which are all over the text of the Lisbon treaty. We wanted a new treaty that reflected the new social and economic challenges facing member states.

The Government has failed to deliver. Not a single full stop, comma or word has been changed in the Lisbon treaty. The proposition that will go before the Irish people on 2 October will be the very same treaty they rejected on 12 June 2008.

When we brush aside all the meaningless rhetoric about "legally binding guarantees" we have nothing more than a series of clarifications on minor aspects of the Lisbon treaty. When we come to vote on the Lisbon treaty in October we will be voting on exactly the same treaty, with exactly the same consequences for Ireland and the EU, as we did on 12 June 2008.

The promise that we will retain our Commissioner must also be questioned. The agreement by the Council of Ministers tells us we will keep our Commissioner for an unspecified period of time. Unless this is written into an EU treaty, the likely outcome is that the reduction in size of the Commission envisioned in Lisbon will be delayed by five years until the next European parliamentary elections in 2014. The Minister said that is nonsense. He tells us and he will tell the Irish people that we have secured our Commissioner indefinitely but it is not written down in the guarantees. I challenge the Minister to show us where it is set down because it was not set down for a reason. This is an issue of trust. Would anyone trust this Government to deliver on any commitment, be it on a European or domestic issue? I certainly would not.

On neutrality, the clarifications tell us that Irish troops can only be sent abroad with the consent of the Irish Government in the Council of Ministers and the Oireachtas. This we already know but neutrality is not only what we do with our troops, it is also about the alliances we form, what we do with our resources and what other member states do in our name. Provisions for permanent structured co-operation in the Lisbon treaty create the real possibility that wars which we do not support will be fought in our name and with our resources while the mutual defence clause creates obligations incompatible with any internationally recognised definition of neutrality.

The Government could have secured opt-outs from these contentious areas of the treaty that deal with common foreign and security policy and common security and defence policy. After its people rejected the Maastricht treaty in 1992 the Danish Government secured a number of opt-outs before putting the treaty to a second vote.

With regards to taxation, the Government has completely missed the point. Under the Lisbon treaty, any move to a common corporation tax system across the EU would require a unanimous vote at the Council of Ministers, and anyone who read the treaty would know this. Sinn Féin's concern on taxation rests with Article 48 of the treaty, which allows the Council of Ministers, by unanimous decision, to alter the text of existing EU treaties.

Today if the EU wanted to agree a common corporation tax system it would have to do so as part of a broader treaty revision process. This would require both unanimity at Council and ratification in each member state, including a referendum in this state. Article 48, however, allows the Council of Ministers to make significant changes to the treaties by unanimity. EU leaders view national debate and referenda on issues of social and economic significance as "cumbersome"; we view such processes as fundamental tools of a functioning progressive democracy. Lisbon does not affect our tax sovereignty, but it makes it easier for the Council of Ministers to make the change in future, and without the inconvenience of a referendum. Again, this is an issue of trust. Fianna Fáil, despite its assurances, could not be trusted on this or indeed any other matter of importance.

We should remember the concerns the Government has not acknowledged in its clarifications. There is no mention of the reduced influence of smaller member states as a consequence of the new voting arrangements at Council, no mention of the 60 or so member state vetoes that will end, no mention of the controversial changes to international trade negotiations that were opposed by farmers and trade justice groups alike and no mention of the opening up of vital public services such as health and education to the vagaries of the market.

The Tánaiste said recently that saying "Yes" to Lisbon was necessary to secure Ireland's economic future. We should remember that her former party leader and Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, was one of the main authors of the Lisbon treaty, with input no doubt from his then Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen. The Tánaiste has presided over the loss of more than 200,000 Irish jobs since becoming Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Their combined résumé on economic matters is not exactly inspiring.

Ireland's place is at the heart of Europe, and this is not in question. The challenge facing Ireland and Europe is building a Union that meets the needs of its peoples. We need a treaty that delivers a better Europe for all member state citizens and, in this context, Sinn Féin will continue to campaign for a better deal.