Green's Lisbon claims spurious - group

Environmentalist, many of them former Green Party members have accused John Gormley of making “spurious claims” that the Lisbon Treaty enhances environmental protection.

At a press conference in Dublin this afternoon, former Green Party politicians Particia McKenna, Bronwen Maher and Chris O'Leary, accompanied by International Secretary of Peace and Neutrality Alliance Edward Horgan, said a proper Green analysis of the Lisbon Treaty has so far been missing from the debate.

They called for a No vote in the coming referendum.

Ms McKenna said the Lisbon Treaty offered no new environmental safeguards and it was “nonsense” to assert the treaty would help the EU to fight climate change.

In fact she said the Euratom Treaty, which was supported by the Lisbon Treaty, required the promotion of nuclear power, which could undermine local renewable energies.

Ms Maher a former member of Dublin City Council said “the last thing this treaty could be called is green”. She maintained ordinary green activists were angered “that John Gormley said Lisbon was good for the environment. This is a spurious claim”.

Ms Maher added that her group’s analysis of the Lisbon treaty could find “nothing going on that is not going on already”, while Mr Horgan said he had seen first hand the environmental damage of wars into which he maintained Irish citizens would be drawn, as a result of the treaty.

Independent councillor Chris O’Leary said the Government was spreading fear by claiming that Lisbon must be passed to secure jobs. The treaty stressed the interests of international markets, not long term jobs, he insisted.