Why Vote Yes?

Ireland Needs Europe

Ireland faces unprecedented challenges which can only be tackled by countries working closer together.  We need an efficient and reformed EU to help us restore prosperity. With the guarantees we have negotiated, we can be sure that voting Yes to Lisbon is a vote for economic recovery in both Ireland and Europe.

1. It’s a new proposal.  Europe has listened to the Irish people, giving new guarantees on all of the main issues from last year.  The Treaty is subject to these new guarantees.  In over 50 years, the EU has fully honoured all such guarantees.
2. Only a Yes Vote will bring about a Reformed EU to tackle the Economic Crisis. A Union frozen in the past is of no use to anyone, but a Union which is more dynamic and effective is essential for our future.
3. Only a Yes Vote is Good for Investment: The people who invest in Ireland and support hundred of thousands of jobs say that confidence in our position as a Euro-positive country matters a lot for them.  Only a Yes will help maintain confidence at this difficult time.
4. Only a Yes Vote Saves Our Commissioner: A No vote means we could lose our Commissioner by November, and along with it we will lose our voice at the EU’s top table. In 2008, 80% of people were concerned about this issue.  It has now been addressed.
5. Only a Yes Vote helps tackle Climate Change, insecure Energy Supplies, as well as helps to fight Cross-Border Criminals, Human Traffickers, and Drug Dealers.  We cannot fight these problems on our own.
6. Only a Yes Vote is good for Workers and Social Protection: The Treaty gives legal effect to the rights, freedoms and principles as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
7. Only a Yes Vote ensures a more Democratic and Accountable EU:  Lisbon makes a new oversight role for the Oireachtas, and increases the powers of the European Parliament
8. Only a Yes Vote will send a Vital Signal to our EU Partners and to International Investors that we are a Fully Engaged EU Country. The EU is a key part of our path to economic recovery.  A more efficient EU is to our benefit.

Why Yes for the Economy?

In what ways does Ireland Need Europe?

     Ireland needs Europe for Investment and Jobs

• Foreign investment sustains hundreds of thousands of Irish jobs.
• Ireland’s attractiveness as a destination for foreign investment stems directly from our positive approach to EU membership.
• The people who invest in Ireland, and who we need for job creation, all say that we need to vote Yes to Lisbon
  

Ireland needs Europe for Exports

• Ireland is the most export dependant country in the EU. 2 out of 3 jobs in Ireland depend on exports. 
• As a member of the EU, Ireland has direct access to 500 million consumers. 
• Prior to joining the EEC community in 1973, Britain was the main destination for Irish exports. Now 63% of all our exports go to the EU.

      Ireland needs the Euro

• Ireland has gained greatly from having a leading international currency, the euro. 
• The European Central Bank has been indispensable during the credit crunch.

How will voting Yes help our economy?

The most significant thing about the current crisis is how most of the challenges can’t be dealt with by countries acting alone.  Unfortunately, the last year has seen the EU’s limitations in how or how fast it can act.  As a small open economy, Ireland needs an EU which is more efficient and effective, especially at times like this.

How will voting Yes help to protect and create Jobs?

1. A Yes vote will improve business confidence by removing uncertainty and improving stability.  This is key to stimulating domestic enterprise. That is why all the country’s business organisations are supporting a Yes vote.
2. A Yes vote will send out the right message to international investors. One of the reasons why companies set up here was that Ireland was viewed as a player in the EU, which was the best gateway for their business into the European market.
3. A Yes vote will commit the EU to the policy of achieving full employment when framing its economic policies. All economic policies that come from Europe will have to first and foremost be designed to create jobs.
4. A Yes vote will require the EU to develop renewable and sustainable energy sources. As one of the best placed countries in the EU to produce “green” energy, Ireland stand to gain from the creation of thousands of new jobs.

We’ll still be in the EU if we vote No, so it won’t impact on our economy?

• An EU which isn’t capable of acting fact even in the face of the largest economic crisis in 70 years is a bad thing for us.

• A lot of investment came to Ireland rather than other countries because we were seen as a Euro-positive country at the centre of decisions and developments. 

• A No vote is a major risk – and there is no conceivable economic upside to a No vote.

What will happen to Ireland if there is a No vote?

It simply isn’t credible to say that there will be no impact on Ireland if we stand alone against a Treaty even if the issues of concern raised in our referendum have been answered.

• Many countries will start looking for other ways to increase their cooperation with each other.  It would be very difficult for us to stop this ‘two-speed Europe’. 

The Guarantees

Is it true that nothing has changed since the last Referendum?

• No, a lot has changed.  Following the deal agreed between Ireland and the other EU members, a Yes vote is the only way to guarantee that we keep our Commissioner – our voice at the top table of the EU. 

• Regarding other issues raised by the Irish people over the course of the campaign, our partners in Europe listened, and each of these concerns has been addressed with guarantees. 

• The guarantees give certainty about what is and is not in the Treaty.  They respond to the concerns raised and they remove any doubt.

What do the new guarantees involve?

The new guarantees have emerged following a process of presenting the concerns expressed by the Irish people during last year’s referendum.

The European Council has agreed that each Member State will retain a Commissioner and that Ireland will be given legal guarantees in the areas of concern to Irish voters.

At the June European Council, the 27 EU members signed an international agreement that guaranteed that the Lisbon Treaty does not affect:

1. Ireland’s right to set our own tax rates. Our 12.5% corporate tax will remain solely our decision.
2. Ireland’s neutrality. There is no European army. There will be no conscription. Any decision to send Irish troops overseas must be passed by the Dáil and the mission must have a UN mandate.
3. Ireland’s right to decide for itself moral issues such as abortion, euthanasia, and issues that effect family life and education.

How can we believe these Guarantees?

These are watertight, cast iron guarantees that have been registered with the UN as a formal international agreement. They will be added to the next EU treaty as protocols.

The EU has never reneged on a deal between the member states. It is a system built on trust.  

The No side says that the guarantees are worthless?

They toured the country last year spending huge amounts of money raising concerns about the Treaty.  Everyone remembers the posters about keeping a Commissioner, saving our tax powers, the right to life, and protecting neutrality. 

These and other points have been dealt with – by dismissing the guarantees the No side are revealing that their problem isn’t with the Treaty, it’s with Europe itself.

What about Workers’ Rights?

The European Council also agreed on a Solemn Declaration on Workers’ Rights which confirms the high importance that the Union attaches to:

• social progress and the protection of workers' rights;
• public services;
• the responsibility of Member States for the delivery of education and health services;
• the essential role and wide discretion of national, regional and local authorities in providing, commissioning and organising services of general economic interest.

Claims from the ‘No’ Campaign

The chief tactic of the No side is about confusing people – they are not interested in persuasion.  This is why the main reason for voting No last year was doubt and or lack of information.  Our campaign must rebut the No side’s distortions.

1. Lisbon will NOT pave the way to Abortion:  Ireland has secured a legal guarantee that it will retain control over sensitive social issues, including those related to the protection of the right to life, the family and education.
2. Lisbon will NOT pave the way to Tax Harmonisation: Ireland has secured a legal guarantee that it will remain in control of its own tax rates.
3. Lisbon will NOT lead to Ireland’s Militarisation nor Conscription: Ireland has secured a legal guarantee that its traditional policy of military neutrality will not be affected in any way.  There is no European Army. We retain a triple lock system which requires the explicit approval of the Dáil, the Seanad and the UN for Irish troops to be deployed.
4. Lisbon will NOT erode Workers’ Rights: The Lisbon Treaty will strengthen workers’ rights by giving legal status to the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
5. We are NOT voting on the exact same package as last year: We retain a Commissioner and have legally binding guarantees on taxation, neutrality and abortion.
6. These Guarantees are NOT worthless:  They become legally binding the day the Treaty enters into force. They will be included in a Protocol to be attached to the EU Treaties at the time of the next accession treaty.
7. Lisbon will NOT create a new EU superstate: The EU is a union of 27 democratic states that has freely chosen to work together. The treaty enhances the democratic nature of the EU by giving a bigger say to national parliaments and the European Parliament.
8. Ireland will NOT have less power: The new double majority system voting system is clearer, fairer and protects smaller countries. In addition, a Yes vote is the only way to save our Commissioner.
9. Lisbon does NOT affect our minimum wage:  Ireland’s minimum wage is set by Ireland and has nothing whatsoever to do with the EU.  Posters claiming otherwise are part of the No side’s campaign to confuse the electorate
10. Submissions by Ireland during the Lisbon Treaty negotiations were NOT ignored: Claims to the contrary are based on false research from London-based Eurosceptic groups.