Madam, - I find it odd that so many writers to your Letters page are surprised that a second vote to deal with the Lisbon crisis is likely. Almost all anti-treaty campaigners argued that people should vote No to get a better deal which addressed their concerns. The Government must now set out to address the key concerns with our EU partners, using declarations or other methods, and then a new deal on Lisbon must be offered to the voters. A second Lisbon vote, with a new deal on offer, has always been the logical conclusion of the No campaign's line of thought. The questions now are: what shape will that deal take, and how will old problems be put to rest?
Rejecting a deal before you have any firm idea of its content seems rash and reckless. Given that Ireland's national interest - indeed its very place in Europe - is in question, we would do well to have cooler heads and more mature responses. - Yours, etc,
ANDREW BYRNE,
Pearse Street,
Dublin 2.
Madam, - Proinsias De Rossa (September 1st) lambasts those he brands "naysayers" over their continued opposition to the Lisbon Treaty - which, Mr De Rossa should be reminded, was rejected democratically by the Irish people.
Mr. De Rossa speaks of disparate, contradictory and anti-EU positions but he also lets the mask slip when he talks of EU integration. The tale spun to the Irish people during the referendum campaign was that the Lisbon Treaty was "designed to make the European Union function more effectively and democratically so that it can better serve the interests of the people of Europe". No mention of integration, but the word "democratic" is there. If Mr. De Rossa is looking for contradiction then surely it is between that succinct statement from the Irish Government and its current anti-democratic manoeuvring to overturn the Irish people's vote of June 12th.
Of course there is nobody more contradictory than Mr De Rossa himself, who has gone through the Irish political scene like Goldilocks, trying out every brand of porridge before running away because he is unable to find one that is "just right". - Yours, etc,
PADRAIG MANNION,
Lisbon Treaty
Campaign Director,
The Workers' Party,
Mountjoy Square,
Dublin 1.
Madam, - Liam Ó Géibheannaigh's contention (September 3rd) that "the EU holds a greater threat to the future well-being of the Irish nation" than does domination by Britain under the Tories is, to put it mildly, open to question.
Calling cooperation between a group of 27 countries with democratically elected governments an "empire" is over the top. That Irish people's approval of the Lisbon Treaty would mean "surrendering total control of their daily lives to foreign bureaucrats", as Mr Ó Géibheannaigh says, is in line with the blatant scaremongering we heard during the referendum campaign.
What Liam O'Geibheannaigh and his likes are preaching is a return to isolation and dependence on our nearest neighbour. We spent 753 years trying to get away from that. Going back to it is not an option. - Yours, etc,
A. LEAVY,
Shielmartin Drive,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.