Category: politics

The “Vote Yes for Jobs, the Economy and Ireland’s Future” advertising campaign for the Lisbon treaty is irresponsible. Nowhere in the treaty document are there any safeguards provided regarding Ireland’s economy, Irish jobs or our future. Throwing out such glib slogans in place of actual analysis is typical of the political lobotomisation of the FF years. Joan Burton of the Labour party claims the treaty is “good for women”. Excellent, so only a misogynist would vote against it.
Here’s the thing. We in Ireland have OUR OWN LAWS. If we feel women are being unfairly treated in this country then we can do something about it. If the EU feels women’s rights need to be protected then they should produce a focussed “rights charter” and put it to the approximately half a billion citizens of the EU. This is democracy and the Treaty of Lisbon is bad for democracy in the specific cases of member states and in the general sense of the governance of EU institutions reflecting the wishes of the citizens of those member states. What’s wrong with less verbose and more focussed treaties? Isn’t democracy kind of important? Why are almost all political parties in Ireland campaigning for a Yes vote? Doesn’t that mean we should vote yes?
Well I’m for democracy. Lots of other people claim to be but in this particular matter is seems to be much less important to most of the parties in Ireland than getting the “correct” response from the Irish people. So why are they all campaigning for a Yes vote. Well the reasons is that they’re not thinking of Ireland at all. They’re thinking of their European Party alliances, something 99% (perhaps :)) of the Irish electorate don’t seem to understand.
Article 138a of the Treaty of Maastricht, which states

“Political parties at European level are important as a factor for integration within the Union. They contribute to forming a European awareness and to expressing the political will of the citizens of the Union”

The below parties, listed by the order of foundation of their ancestor organisations, received official EU recognition and funding during the 2005 financial year.

• European People’s Party: christian democrats and conservatives, including the CDU of Germany and the UMP of France.
• Party of European Socialists: social democrats and democratic socialists, including the Socialist Party of France and the Labour Party of the United Kingdom.
• European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party: liberal democrats and centrists
• European Free Alliance: pro-devolution, independentist
• European Green Party: greens
• Alliance for Europe of the Nations: eurosceptics and nationalists
• Party of the European Left: socialists and communists
• European Democratic Party: centrists, european integrationists
• Alliance of Independent Democrats in Europe: centrists
• EUDemocrats: EU-critical and EU-reformists of centre and centre-left

Fianna Gael are members of the European People’s Party. Fianna Fail are members of the Alliance for a Europe of Nations (AEN). AEN is notably conservative and it’s felt that FF would actually be happier joining wht European Liberal Democrat & Reform Party which is already home to the PD’s. The Labour Party are members of the Party of European Socialists (PES).
Guess what? These parties qualify for EU funding and some of that trickles down to their member parties including those in Ireland. The Irish parties are following their official European party lines. Sinn Feinn is arguing for a NO vote which, correct me if I’m wrong, is supported by the Nordic Green Left Alliance.
Party politics is frustrating enough and R has pointed out to me that the current campaigning is a microcosm of a worse pan European issue we’ll all face if this treaty is ratified. Indeed, we may face it anyway. Whatever about the person who votes for FF because their father and grand father voted that way you can be damned sure they didn’t know they were voting for the AEN too. The democratic process becomes further subverted by these largely unpublicised coalitions which seek to influence the governance of the EU and the countries within it. When was the last time a FF TD had to justify a position supported by the AEN on national tv? (leave Lisbon aside of course as it very much is a special case)
Then there’s the scare mongering. Witness Dick Roche’s official comments about naysayers

“I do respect that people have concerns about it, and I also respect the point that there are many people who don’t want Europe, who don’t like Europe,” he said. “But the reality of it is that our future is so intimately tied up with Europe that it is in Ireland’s interest that Europe be more efficient and more effective and this treaty will make Europe more efficient and more effective.”

So that’s great then. Our future is intimately tied up with Europe. A concoction of political-speak if ever I heard it. We’re part of Europe. Isn’t geography wonderful. Let’s hear it for continental drift. The message is that you’d have to be daft to vote No. It’s a death sentence for all of us. To compile the list of direct and suggested faults of the naysayer, if you want to vote no to this thing you must be

1. Anti-women
2. Anti-Europe or just dislike Europe
3. Anti-foreigner
4. A flat-earther luddite
5. Pro-America (cos you’re playing into their hands)
6. A supporter of Sinn Fein
7. Possibly a fascist
8. Against future economic success and employment for Ireland
9. Ungrateful for the role Europe has played in our development as a nation
10. Incapable of understanding the benefits
11. Gullible
12. A Hindrance
13. Essentially stupid

I had no idea I was such a bad human being. Whatever happened to conscientious objection. Maybe I’m just misguided. R is too, we could form a support group for other like minded idiots.
Does the Yes campaign take us for fools? Well on the strength that the majority of us voted for them they may be right but I think that Irish people will be more cautious about anything that could affect their wallets and the future side of their wads. The Yaysayers be reassured by the Irish Times article but may still be a bit worried that it could swing the other way quite quickly based on pressure from lobby groups
Should you read it? Well watch Gay Mitchell stumble though a panel discussion with VIncent Brown and Patricia McKenna on this issue…

Would you buy a used car from this man? Seriously, he’s totally unconvincing on the idea of voting for a text the general public won’t understand. A bit cavalier perhaps?
Interestingly enough, the Sunday Times has published extracts from the treaty today. Brian Cowen and Dick Roche may feel you shouldn’t bother to read it but thanks to the Sunday Times many people will have key extracts from the treaty at home. I sincerely hope they study it before deciding how to proceed.

OMSP here referring to open market selling price. I was just checking how the OMSP would be affected by adding tens of thousands of miles to something like a BMW 5 series. The amazing thing is that this nasty, uneuropean? and ultimately duplicitous tax doesn’t seem to be altered by adding 50,000 miles. Now, anyone who’s ever bought a car knows that one with very low mileage is generally going to be more expensive than one that’s got 70k+ on the odometer. Can someone please tell the Revenue or are they just trying to make an unfair system even more unfair?

I know I’ve got a bee in my bonnet but I’m very annoyed by the government’s advocacy of a yes vote in the lisbon treaty referendum. It’s not unusual for me to adopt an armchair politician’s posturing in response to the latest piece of governmental insanity that’s being inflicted on the Irish electorate but the Lisbon treaty is the single most important referendum we’ve had to consider in relation to our participation in the EU. (note to self, discover punctuation ;-))
What’s giving me ire (painful if you think about it) is the (in my opinion) misrepresentation of the treaty by ill-informed governmental spokespeople and FF politicos. This is compounded by calls for a No vote by some of the more marginalised and perhaps polarising organisations in the state. We’re not getting the debate on this we really deserve.
All I can offer is personal opinion based on what I’ve read in the treaty and commentary from both sides of the debate. These lean me strongly towards a No vote.

• We have massive personal taxation in Ireland, mostly collected with indirect taxation (e.g. VAT & VRT). We’ve only adopted tax harmonisation when it suits as it either encourages business or levies individuals. One piece of harmonisation the Irish government may introduce is rates on property. You can be sure this will be blamed on “Europe”.
• If we say yes to this we’re stuck with it and the power to amend this will transfer to the EU institutions. Our proportional vote will be lowered which will affect us as many key issues which pre-Treaty require unanimous decision will be decidable via Qualified Majority Voting (QMV). You’re not just voting for Lisbon, the vote has serious future implications for Irish law and self governance on important economic and social issues
• In the Irish Constitution, any amendments must be put to the people in a referendum. We fought hard for this constitution, we should not give it up by copper-fastening the superiority of the EU legal institutions. We’re not a perfect country by any means but self-governance has been important to us in the past.
• Potentially, we would not have a permanent EU Commissioner due to our size
• The Reform Treaty of Lisbon would give the European Union the power to make laws or take decisions in 68 new policy areas or matters, which would include civil and criminal law, justice and policing, immigration, public services, energy, transport, tourism, civil protection and public health. The four fundamental freedoms of the EU are: free movement of persons, goods, capital and establishment. Look at subversions of this like VRT and you’ll see that we haven’t even got freedom of trade. We’ve already been let down by our government to our financial detriment. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that a Yes vote for Lisbon will reduce the personal direct and indirect taxation here.There are better ways to achieve that goal already provided for under EU law
• The Treaty of Lisbon would enshrine a subordinate role for National Parliaments. Whilst we have already lost law making powers to the EC/EU, we would lose more under Lisbon and the citizens who elect them have lost their powers to decide too. In any event, this referendum should be unnecessary because the Nice Treaty voting arrangements are already in place and functioning adequately.
• Ask yourself why other countries are not voting on this? Oh wait, the French and Dutch have already rejected the proposed EU constitution in 2005. Ireland looks like being the only EU State to have a referendum because of the Irish Constitution and the 1986 Crotty case.Don’t perceive a No vote as somehow “letting down” your fellow Europeans. Chances are that they don’t really want this either but are being denied the democratic opportunity to decide for themselves.
• As several people who’ve read it are pointing out, the Lisbon treaty is an unintelligible mess. It contains 300 pages of amendments to over 3000 pages of existing Treaties. There is no consolidated version of this treaty available which can be easily understood by anyone who hasn’t a deep amateur or professional interest in law and a lot of caffeinated products. Would you sign a contract you can’t understand?
• You can be damn sure the politicians telling you to vote yes have not and never will read this thing in entirety

Then consider how many of these risks are identified on the smiley-faced bright & breezy referendum commission’s website. Are you really informed?