Madam, – As a mother, an advocate of the European Union, and a practising Catholic, I strongly disagree with Fr Edmond Grace’s sentiments (September 10th). Like a great many other Europeans, I am increasingly concerned with the direction of the EU of late. In particular, I am concerned that we are moving from a union of economic equals to a federal and more militarised super state.
Most of all however, I am worried about what Lisbon will bring for my children’s future. Will they be either forced to work for low wages because of the social dumping approved by the EU courts and copperfastened by the Lisbon Treaty? Or will they need to go abroad to chase the high-end jobs which will vanish from this country when multinationals can no longer benefit from our low tax rates because of the distortion of competition clause in the treaty?
Unlike Fr Grace, I think other issues are also too important to me to be left to political promises. I’ve read the Charter of Rights, and it gives the unborn child no protection whatsoever. And this charter can overrule our Constitution under Article 6 of the Lisbon Treaty and Declaration 17 on Primacy, which declares EU law superior to Irish law.
Wanting to ensure that our laws are protected, that workers’ rights can be enforced, and choosing to be a sovereign state instead of a marginalised section of a federation, doesn’t make me suspicious – just sensible. – Yours, etc,
Madam, – Jamie Smith deserves credit for an informative and well researched series of articles on Lisbon II. My gripe is that the analysis of Cóir’s argument that the treaty threatens the constitutional protection of the right to life, in the third article (Opinion, September 9th) and the headline which states that the “Treaty is unlikely to threaten ban on abortion”, are too soft and do not expose these claims for what they are: nonsense.
The word “unlikely” does not do justice to the incredible scenario mapped out by Cóir, that the European Court of Justice will find that there exists a right to abortion, though not referred to in either the treaty or charter, which would trump the constitutional protection of the right to life in our Constitution. This will become law despite Article 6 of the Lisbon Treaty which states that the charter does not extend “in any way the competences of the Union as defined by the treaties” and even though this is contrary to an existing protocol in the Maastricht Treaty which confirms that nothing in EU treaties can affect our constitutional provision on the right to life.
Not just that, but Cóir expects the European Court of Justice to ignore the solemn guarantees given to the Irish Government, as well as the agreement that they will form part of a future treaty. This entire scenario is not just “unlikely”, it is so incredible that it is a nonsense proposition.
This needs to be said in the strongest terms each time it is claimed that Europe has any competence in respect to our abortion laws. Whatever the outcome of the vote on this occasion, it should not be decided on the false premise that the Lisbon Treaty threatens the right to life provision in our Constitution.
MICHAEL MULLOOLY,
Ashdale Road,
Terenure,
Dublin 6w.