Madam, - Barry Walsh (April 19th) may have failed to identify himself as president of Young Fine Gael but he clearly displays the naive and gullible approach to the Lisbon treaty that his party has adopted.
According to Mr Walsh the treaty "makes no reference to tax policy". This is complete nonsense. The treaty clearly states that any "distortion of competition" will have to be eliminated. By any reasonable analysis, our low level of corporation tax could be described as a "distortion of competition" and will surely attract the attention of the larger, more powerful European nations.
For example, the recent decision of Shires to relocate its head office from the UK to Ireland to avail of our competitive tax regime will deprive the UK exchequer of significant revenue.
This situation will not be unnoticed by the British government, which might well seek to use a ratified Lisbon treaty to redress this matter.
Mr Walsh calls those of us who warn against the tax implications of the treaty as "scaremongers" but the drive towards tax harmonisation is already well under way. As the French economy minister recently said, "it has been going on for a long time but this is one issue we are determined to push".
It is worth pointing out that if the treaty were passed, Ireland's voting weight in the council would be reduced by 60 per cent while France's would increase by 50 per cent. And under the common commercial policy Ireland for the first time ever gives up the right to legislate in the area of foreign direct investment, threatening our historic ability to attract employment generating investment.
The effect of this withdrawal of investment would have drastic consequences for future generations.
In the unlikely event that the Lisbon treaty is passed by the Irish electorate in the coming referendum, Mr Walsh's Fine Gael may find itself having to defend its decision to endorse a treaty that served the European project well, but had a devastating impact upon the economic and social fabric of this country. - Your, etc,
BRIAN GEOGHEGAN,
Temple Manor Grove,
Walkinstown,
Dublin 12.