Lisbon treaty 2009 - Irish referendum

Lisbon debate turns sour before referendum

by Daniel Finnan

Article published on the 2009-09-30 Latest update 2009-09-30 12:15 TU

Each side of the referendum debate is accusing the other of talking rubbish
(Daniel Finnan/RFI)

With only a few days left before Irish voters go to the polls to decide the fate of the Lisbon treaty, which was rejected in the first referendum in June last year, leading members of the Yes and No campaigns have been working hard to discredit their rivals.

One of the most vocal campaigning groups is Ireland for Europe, headed by Pat Cox, a former President of the European Parliament.

They claim that a No vote would mean that Ireland would become an “agent” of Britain and cite coupled with recent comments from British Conservative Party leader David Cameron as proof.

Ireland for Europe’s chairperson, Brigid Laffan, says that if Ireland votes No, it “effectively become an agent of the British conservatives”.

“If the No wins, I think we have to look at the dynamic implications,” Cox tells RFI. “It seems to be clear, that in the coming months, we would give a gift to forces in British politics who are hostile and sceptical to the Lisbon treaty."

He also backed up economist Brendan Halligan on the financial implications.

Halligan stated that another No vote would result in increased interest rates and therefore more expensive public sector borrowing, as occurred following the previous No vote.

“I fear a number of negative outcomes, but the most obvious and immediate negative outcome, would be in the raising of debt on international financial markets,” says Cox.

“And because of our borrowing requirement, it would be a significant self-imposed short-term penalty, and others could emerge.”

The Yes campaign seems to have learnt from its mistakes of the first Lisbon referendum. But a number of No campaigners have worked hard to voice their concerns.

Socialist Member of the European Parliament Joe Higgins staunchly defends his call for a No vote.

“I regret to say that we did not have a democratic or honest debate over the past period of months,” says Higgins.

He blames the government, media and big business for misleading the public and implying that a No vote “would cause further economic disaster”.

“It is the neo-liberal, right-wing policies - liberalisation, deregulation and privatisation - that have been pushed for decades by the European Union, that is responsible for that crisis,” he says.

On France 24 TV  Ireland's Lisbon Treaty campaign