Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Science, Deputy Seán Haughey. The Bill is undoubtedly one of the most important we will see in this or any other year. I welcome its publication and commend the Taoiseach and the Minister for the hard work they have done since the original referendum was rejected. I welcome the announcement that the next referendum will be held on 2 October.

As in the last referendum, the Labour Party will campaign vigorously for a "Yes" vote between now and October. We will try to convince people, particularly those who voted "No" last time, that it is in the interests of the country for a "Yes" vote to be returned. We will support the Government in its objective of passing the Lisbon treaty in October. That commitment is made easier by the series of legal guarantees that have been secured since the rejection of the original treaty, particularly the retention of Ireland's Commissioner and the declaration on workers' rights and social policy.

In 2008 I campaigned throughout the north east, particularly in the Meath East constituency, which was one of the very few that returned a "Yes" vote. I pay tribute to politicians from other parties who went out and campaigned for a "Yes" vote in that constituency, notably Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I canvassed in a traditional way. I spoke to people on doorsteps, met people in supermarkets, attended public meetings and engaged with people about their concerns. It was very clear to me at that stage, as it was to anybody who bothered to go out and talk to people, that people were very perturbed and underwhelmed by the efforts of the "Yes" campaign in 2008.

From the outset it was clear that the Government had no coherent communications strategy and assumed wagging a finger at people would convince them to vote "Yes". The never-ending lap of honour by the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, did not help people to focus their minds or encourage a well-reasoned and well-thought out debate. The information vacuum that existed was very quickly and effectively filled by the other side, which was a disparate alliance of various groups campaigning in favour of a "No" vote.

I spoke with the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dick Roche, and Deputy Joe McHugh at an ICA event in Termonfeckin in County Louth a number of months before the date of the referendum. It was clear from the comments and questions from the floor that real concerns about defence, taxation, abortion and neutrality were expressed by many people. Many people had already made up their minds before the Government campaign got underway. It is something we need to learn a lesson from this time. The "Yes" side was on the defensive from the start and as we know the rest is history.

I commend the work done by Senator Pascal Donohoe in his sub-committee in the aftermath of the Lisbon referendum. It threw up some very interesting and important information. I hope we will learn lessons from it. The Government needs to analyse the catastrophic communications failure that defined the last referendum campaign and I hope it is now ready to mount a very positive campaign. So far it seems the Government has learnt very little and is choosing to rely on economic fear rather than constructive debate. This seemed to be confirmed by reports that the Taoiseach is too scared to publish the report of an bord snip nua in case the people are incapable of processing more than one issue at any one time.

I want to quote from an article in this week's Irish Examiner in which Hugh Fraser, a former director of the Combat Poverty Agency, spelled out the Government's commitment to the democratic process. He said:

There is much evidence of a systematic effort to close down, control or emasculate and control authoritative and independent voices on issues of social justice and thus to marginalise dissent. Community groups receiving Government funding have been instructed not to network with other community groups and thus build up a collective voice on issues.

Does the Government agree that strong and vibrant community groups, many of which receive matching funding and grants from the European Union, might have a role to play in generating a "Yes" vote this time and getting support for it? Community groups, voluntary associations and grassroots' networks should have been empowered with information, training and funding to help sell the benefits of the treaty to our people.

There was a real opportunity to achieve a "Yes" vote with a bottom-up ground swell of support from the grassroots and groups and organisations that people trust and engage with regularly. Instead, this Government is so hell-bent on destroying the community sector that a fantastic opportunity has been missed. Community groups where town hall meetings might have taken place now have to ask permission before they open their mouths. God forbid they might be allowed to network with one another in case they might say something that upsets the Government. The fact we did not try to build support for the referendum from the bottom up is a missed opportunity.

The Government has done a genuinely commendable and excellent job in securing the assurance and guarantees that will help to reassure many of those who voted against the treaty last time. However, the Government and all of us have to exhibit some degree of self-awareness at the outset of this process. Confidence in our institutions, Government and politicians in general is at an all-time low. Trust is an endangered emotion, and yet the most unpopular Government in a generation feels confident that it can sell the treaty from the top down. Anybody who believes a "Yes" vote is a sure thing or that fear alone will get a "Yes" vote is disillusioned.

I urge all Senators and Deputies from parties on the "Yes" side to engage in a positive campaign that is reflective and honest. If we do that and treat people with the respect they deserve on this issue, it is to be hoped that our national commitment to Europe will be re-affirmed on 2 October.