86TH PLENARY SESSION

Thank you, Chairman. 

Chairman, I would like to welcome the Taoiseach to the Forum and to thank him for his presentation.  I would like to welcome the Taoiseach being here today, the Forum’s launch of the Summary Guide on the Lisbon Treaty and its announcements of a series of country‑wide public debates on the Treaty.  This signals the start to a very vigorous public information campaign, one that I would suggest is badly needed.  I know the Taoiseach himself has referred to the fact that a lot of members of the public are very unclear about the Treaty, and I think what we have an opportunity for now, over the coming months, is a very vigorous information campaign where both the Yes and the No arguments are heard.  The Taoiseach will be aware that the Green Party has just had its own internal information campaign and debate on the Treaty where Yes and No arguments were equally articulated in a balanced way and we had what I believe was a very democratic decision where the issue was put to our grassroots members and they voted a majority to support the Treaty. 

I would hope that we have the same kind of fair and balanced information campaign around the country and I look forward to participating in it. 

I also would welcome the establishment and the Green Party would welcome the speedy establishment of the Referendum Commission with a very clear remit, because I think it can and should play a very important role in the campaign leading up to the referendum. 

I also would welcome the Forum’s Guide, the document that was issued here today.  I welcome it particularly because I think it is short and it is clear and the more of this kind of information that can be produced by people on both sides of the campaign I think will be very helpful from the public’s point of view, as long as it is clear and factual. 

I also think that we do need sector specific information I know as a member of the All Party Oireachtas European Affairs Committee we have had different stakeholders in speaking to us about the Treaty and they have issues that require clarification that are very specific to their sector.  So I would argue that we should have sector specific information for the agricultural community, for the trade unions, for the development and aid sectors, the SME sector and so on.  I think this would prove helpful in terms of allaying some of the concerns that those sectors may have. 

The Taoiseach also mentioned his welcome for the new scrutiny role for national parliaments and the Green Party would certainly welcome this role.  It will, however, and I am sure the Taoiseach is very aware of this, place a great burden on national parliaments.  National parliaments are now going to be given an eight week period in which they can scrutinise draft EU legislation and I think it will mean that committees like the EU Scrutiny Committee and the EU Affairs Committee will be under a lot of pressure to get through an awful lot, to process a lot of documentation and I hope it is the Taoiseach’s intention to fully resource those committees so they will be able to carry out that role as effectively as possible. 

Also as a new member of Seanad Eireann I hope the Taoiseach sees the potential for Seanad Eireann to play a greater role in debating EU policy issues and in having EU politicians, commissioners and so on to speak to the Seanad and to familiarise us with some of the policy issues that are being debated within the EU institutions.

To finish, I think it is important to mention the extension of the co‑decision.  I think that is something very welcome.  The Green Party has always taken European politics very seriously.  We have fielded candidates in European elections and I think that if the Irish public recognise that the European Parliament candidates are going to have much greater say and a much greater role now in lawmaking in the European Union it will mean they will start taking the European elections far more seriously than they have been taken to date and I hope they see quality candidates going forward for the next European elections in 2009.  Thank you. 

86th plenary session of the National Forum on Europe • St Patrick’s Hall • Dublin Castle • Dublin 2 • Thursday 31 January 2008
Taoiseach Mr Bertie Ahern TD addressed the theme ‘Ireland and the Reform Treaty’

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