Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

The Fine Gael Party fully supports the Bill which has been well crafted and drafted by the officials. I expect that they, like us, have learned from the experience of the first Lisbon treaty referendum. This factor appears to have come into play in the drafting of the legislation. My party has no hesitation in supporting the formulation of the amendments, through the Constitution, which are required to implement the Lisbon treaty.

Following the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Germany that there is no impediment to ratifying the Lisbon treaty in Germany, except for some changes required in domestic legislation, the implementation of the treaty depends on ratification in Ireland. While Poland and the Czech Republic must sign the treaty, all depends on Ireland. Since the first referendum, apart from the constitutional implications and toing and froing on the detail and clarifications, Europe has once again saved us in economic terms. Being a member of the eurozone and a member state of the European Union, as well as having support from the European Central Bank, is of fundamental importance in safeguarding the country's financial viability and stability. This has to be borne in mind when we talk about Europe from now on.

There is a fundamental change in this treaty compared to the first Lisbon referendum, which concerns the commissionership. That was one of the main issues in the debate and on the doorsteps. There is no question but that it would be more efficient if the number of Commissioners were reduced. However, it has been accepted in Europe that there is a feeling of greater democracy in having a presence within the European Commission, which is seen as the central body in initiating legislation, protecting the continuity of European integration and ensuring that the rule of law is upheld at European level. It has been accepted that it is important to have a presence there and therefore there has been a fundamental change following the last referendum. There is also a fundamental change, however, in terms of the guarantees that have been received. Appearance and reality are both important in politics, but they got out of kilter in the first referendum. There were real concerns that manifested themselves in that "No" vote. Those concerns have since been professionally researched. All the issues that were raised and which seemed to have been of concern to the public have now been addressed in the guarantees that were provided by the Heads of State and Government at the last European Council meeting.

It is clear that European leaders took Irish citizens' concerns, as expressed in that referendum, very seriously. They meticulously engaged with the Irish Government to try to identify where the problem lay. The comprehensive decision which is set out in the agreement of the last European Council in June goes through every item. The abortion issue was already protected in the treaties, but this decision explicitly states that the Lisbon treaty will have no impact on the protection of the right to life. In addition, the rights of the family and education, as set out in our Constitution, are protected. We have therefore a merging of the appearance and reality as to what the Lisbon treaty means. We now have a European Council decision on this, which we are told is legally binding. I will come to that point in a moment.

All these issues, including taxation and the protection of the right to life, were raised by Senators in this House. The guarantees expressly state that the treaty will make no change of any kind for any member state to the extent or operation of the competence of the EU on taxation. One Senator was very vocal on the issues of security and defence. However, these guarantees express the assurance that it is for Ireland to take decisions on these issues. It says the treaty does not prejudice the security and defence policy of member states. It does not affect or prejudice Ireland's traditional policy of military neutrality. An issue was raised during the campaign suggesting that in the context of a common defence, Ireland would have to come to the defence of another member state in the event of a terrorist attack. These guarantees make absolutely clear, however, that if there is such a terrorist attack it is for the member states to determine the nature of aid or assistance to be provided to a member state which is the subject of such an attack or the victim of armed aggression on its territory. It is crystal clear that these are decisions which we make in exercising our sovereignty.

As regards conscription, the guarantees also state that the Treaty of Lisbon does not provide for the creation of a European army or for conscription to any military formation. It does not affect the right of Ireland or any other member state to determine the nature and volume of its defence and security expenditure or the nature of its defence capabilities. It is a matter for Ireland whether to participate in any military operation which is, in all cases, of a peacekeeping kind.

There is also the declaration on workers' rights, social policy and other issues. That declaration deals with services of general economic interest and services of non-economic interest, which was an issue of concern in the last campaign. It is important to appreciate fully the significance of these guarantees. No sooner was this agreement announced than Vincent Browne rubbished the guarantees on his TV3 programme. He said they were not legally binding and he rubbished anyone who suggested otherwise. This type of unbalanced reporting must be addressed.