Lisbon will not solve economic problems, says McDonald

REFERENDUM:THE LISBON Treaty was not responsible for Ireland's economic problems nor would it solve them, the Sinn Féin ardfheis was told.

Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald, the party’s new vice-president, said that despite promises of legally binding guarantees “it is my firm belief that when the referendum is re-run, the people will be asked to vote on exactly the same treaty with exactly the same problems as before.

“If this is not the case, if the Government has secured actual changes to the text of the Lisbon Treaty on issues, then they should put those changes in the public domain.”

She said that “if people’s concerns are to be seriously addressed it will require a new treaty.”

Sinn Féin was the only Dáil party to oppose the treaty and Ms McDonald said “there will undoubtedly be an attempt to blame our current economic crisis on the rejection of Lisbon in this State. Of course, this is utter nonsense. Lisbon was neither responsible for our economic woes, nor will it solve them.”

Cllr Toireasa Ferris, the party’s Ireland South European election candidate, said that last year Yes campaigners “told us that no changes could be made to the treaty, that Ireland would receive no concessions if we voted No. Yet the very same people now tell us they have achieved major concessions on a range of issues.

“Well, I for one am not willing to accept that from the same snake oil salesmen who sold us Seán FitzPatricks’s debts, particularly when we cannot even see the detail of these so-called guarantees.”

EU North West candidate and Lisbon campaign director Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said guarantees or declarations were not legally binding. “They are merely political declarations made by politicians with no legal status or force. They are like the promises of a Government at election time, made only to be broken.”

Kathleen Funchion, Ireland East election candidate for the European parliament, said voters last year made their decision on the Lisbon Treaty “based on the fact that Lisbon was a bad deal for Ireland. Nothing has changed. The Lisbon Treaty is still a bad deal for Ireland,” for public services and for workers’ rights.

Party justice spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh, condemning the EU’s lack of action on the crisis in Gaza, called for a boycott of Israeli goods.

He said that last year at least €500 million worth of arms were sold by the EU to Israel and many “of those weapons were used against the innocent citizens of Gaza”.

He said that unless the trade was stopped, it would “increase, especially if the Lisbon Treaty is passed, which would have all countries in the EU increase their military capabilities”.

MEP Bairbre de Brún also criticised the EU response to the Gaza crisis. “We need security for Israel and a free Palestinian state but the days of Israel using the excuse of security to slaughter innocent Palestinians must end . . .”

Ms de Brún, who travels to the Middle East this week, said the EU “must use the levers it has through the human rights provisions of its preferential trade agreements”.