Ireland’s interests will be best served by voting No to the Lisbon Treaty, Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams claimed today.
The party president maintained the Government has done nothing to get a better deal for the country.
Mr Adams said that despite reassurances that the concerns of the electorate have been addressed, people will still be voting on the same charter.
“We will still lose our commissioner, only now in 2014 instead of 2009,” he said.
“Our neutrality will still be undermined. Workers' rights and public services will still come under attack. And tax harmonisation will still be made easier.
“For our part the fact that exactly the same treaty is being placed before the people means that we should give the same answer. A better deal is still possible, but only if we reject the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd,” he said.
Mr Adams maintained that despite being against the charter, the party’s European agenda was positive and progressive.
“Sinn Féin believes that Ireland‘s place is at the heart of Europe,” he said outside a Sinn Féin meeting in Dublin.
“Our approach to the EU is to support those proposals that are in Ireland‘s interests and to oppose and campaign to change those that are not.”
He added that in June last year the people rejected the Lisbon Treaty because they believed it was a bad document.
“The result presented the Irish Government with a strong mandate to negotiate a better Treaty,” he continued.
“At the time we presented Brian Cowen with very detailed proposals as to how we felt the electorate’s concerns could be dealt with.
“What did the Government do? Just like their mismanagement of the economy, they prevaricated, sat on their hands and did nothing. As a result they have not secured a single change to the text of the Lisbon Treaty.
“On October 2nd we will be voting on exactly the same treaty as we did last year.”
PA