Welcome to our new site, some of the team wanted to say hello:
Pat Cox – Director
It’s hugely exciting to be leading a campaign like this, fresh off the back of the New Deal announced in Brussels. We planned our launch to coincide with the new agreement, and we’re confident it will be a very special event.
I’ll be posting updates here as to my thoughts on how the campaign is going and what we’re up to. Let me know if there’s something in particular you want me to talk about.
Thanks,
Pat.
Brigid Laffan – Chairperson
It really is all-go here at the moment, and the tension and excitement of the Summit has everyone on-edge. I’m very happy that the Government drove a hard deal to ensure we get legally-binding protocols on the issues of concern to Irish voters. It looked for a while that the UK and others might block this, but the deal has come through. People can rest assured that the EU has addressed their concerns and a new deal is now on the table.
I’ll be appearing on the panel on Questions and Answers on Monday and I’m sure there will be plenty of lively discussion then!
Brigid.
Andrew Byrne Chief of Operations
It has been an intense couple of weeks since I joined this campaign from Generation YES. The Launch has been keeping me busy non-stop, and I’m looking forward to seeing the buzz and attention that will come from that.
A lot of ‘No’ people on the radio today trying to sow confusion among people about the new legal guarantees from Brussels – it’s the same old tactics of trying to stoke fear and uncertainty. The bottom line is that we’ve got our automatic right to a Commissioner granted, and we’ve got guarantees on neutrality, taxation and abortion. This is a good deal, and we need to make sure people understand what’s on offer.
There are plenty of pros to the Yes vote for Ireland and it would move the EU project forward. Why can’t the protocols be included in the Lisbon Treaty? There is nothing to prevent the protocols intended for the next accession treaty being voted down.
I voted ‘no’ the last time around and I remain to be convinced that the reasons for voting no then will still exist in a few months time. I am open to changing my mind.
One of the reasons I voted no was the way in which political parties refused to engage with me about the issues. They refused even to speak my language, which is Irish. If the Europe Union is about anything, surely it’s about drawing the many diverse strands of Europe together and making sure its worth more than the sum of the parts.
I notice that there’s no Irish on your website. I don’t want it all translated – I don’t want tons of documents that I wouldn’t read in English to be translated into Irish. But I do think that if IrelandforEurope is to reflect the people of Ireland and Ireland’s culture in its campaign for a Yes vote, it needs to recognise that Irish is a part of our identity and include it in a meaningful way in the campaign.
Good luck guys! Yes vote is very important in the current climate!
Do you have a website? How can you contribute to the cause?
What are the top 10 reasons for a no-voter from the previous referendum to vote yes now?
I was heartened to hear about this vitally important initiative, and wish it every success. Is there a committee or steering group? I would be interested to know who else is involved in a leadership capacity.
Thank you.
Regards,
Ann Buckley
Concubhar Ó Liatháin
Tuigim duit ó thaobh cearta teanga de: is fíor duit gur beag cumarsáid a dhéanann rialtas na tíre seo trí Ghaeilge. É sin ráite, is ceist náisiúnta í sin agus ní bhaineann sé le Conradh Liopóin. Más maith linn, mar phobal labhartha na Gaeilge, agóid ar son chearta teanga, ba chóir é a dhéanamh trín chóras náisiúnta daonlathach, agus ní trí thonscnamh mór Eorpach a scriosadh. Ba chóir, dar liom, an Conradh a mheas ar an méid atá ann: an gcuirfidh sé ar chumas an Aontas Eorpaigh bheith níos éifeachtaigh?
Mar a tharlaíonn sé, ní raibh an rialtas seo chomh dona sin ó thaobh na Gaeilge de. Chuir siad Acht na dTeangacha oifigiúla i bhfeidhm (cé go bhfuil sé lochtach) agus d’iarr siad ar an AE an Ghaeilge a chur ar liosta na dteangacha oifigiúla – rud a rinne siad. Bhí an Conradh ar fáil i nGaeilge agus mar a bhí an Páipéar Bán (bileog eolais an rialtais faoin chonradh atá measartha cuimsitheach).
Ba chóir dúinn an tsúil a choinneáil ar an phictiúir mhór : tá an domhan ag athrú go tapaidh; is ar leas na gcumhachtaí móra – an tSín, na Stáit Aontaithe, an Rúis, an India go fiú – a dhéanfar na cinnithe móra amach anseo; tá an t-ádh orainn go bhfuilimid inár mball de ghrúpa mór, an AE, a thugann guth dúinn atá i bhfad níos mó ná an meachán polaitiúil atá againn mar mhion-náisiúin. Ba chóir dúinn an áit atá againn sa ghrúpa sin a choinneáil: i lár báire, meas againn, in ann an córas a imirt i gceart. Ní gá bheith soineanta ach oiread: tá roinnt tíortha móra san AE atá fíor-chumachtacth, ach ó tháinig an 10 is deireannaí isteach tá guth níos láidre — mórálach agus daonlathach – ag ná tíortha beaga. Agus lena chois sin, tá Éire go maith ag crúthú comhaontais leis na tíortha móra: an fhrainc ar cheistanna feirmeoireachta, an Bhreatain ar cheisteanna sóisialta nó cánach, agus mar sin de.
Agus ní cóir bheith i gcónaí ag smaoineadh ar fhigiúirí nó ar mheachán vótála. Is tábhactaí ar fad an caipiteal polaitiúil agus imirt an tionchair – buanna a bhí againn go dtí seo ach atá ag sleamhnú uainn agus muid éiginnte faoin choradh leasaithe.
English Trans:
I understand where you’re coming from: the current government seldom communicates anything in Irish. But that’s a national question and not one about Lisbon. If, as an Irish speaking community, we want to agitate for better language rights, we should do so through the national democratic structures, and not by way of interfering with the larger project of EU reform. We should assess Lisbon on its merits: will it improve the effectiveness of the EU?
As it happens, this government have not been the worst in terms of the Irish langauge. They have enacted the official languages act (even if imperfect) and requested that Irish be made a working Eu langugage – a request the EU complied with. The treaty was available in Irish as was the governments fairly comprehensive White Paper.
We need to keep an eye on the big picture: the world is changing rapidly, most major decisions will be made by and for the big powers – China, the US, Russia, and even India. We are fortunate to be part of a bigger group, the EU, where we have a voice far above our weight as a small country. We should keep our place in that group – at the heart of it, and placed to play the system. We needn’t be naive – there are some strong powers in the EU, but since the last 10 joined, smaller countries have a bigger voice – moral and democratic. And anway, Ireland has always been good at building alliances with the big powers – with France on farming, Britain on social and tax issues for example.
Anyhow, we shouldn’t always focus on the numbers and voting weight – using political capital and bringing influence to bear ar far more important – two things we’ve always done well, and which we should allow to slip away by stalling the reform treaty any more.
Of course the last sentence should run “and which we shouldN’T allow to slip away by stalling the reform treaty any more.”
Hi,
I thought from listening to the radio this group was non-political.
Then i check the site out and we have Pat Cox ex eu parliament president and fervent supporter of a federal europe. He has a reserved seat on the eu gravy train and will no doubt get further rewards from the eu for his ‘loyalty’.
Then Brigid Laffan-another eu insider-who has been a key member of the european movement here, has received money from the eu and has been one of the main proselytisers for a federal europe here over the past decade. Her specialty is european integration so the less of that the less she has to write about.
Andrew Byrne I don’t know anything of except he is a member of the green party who are split on the eu constitution/lisbon treaty.
I was also disappointed but not surprised to hear one of the campaign spokespeople Denis Hickey admit he hadn’t read the treaty despite saying that the reason he was now getting involved was because of the government’s hamfisted campaign last time.
Our taoiseach hadn’t read it, our commissioner hadn’t read it and Denis Hickey hasn’t read it. Plus ca change?
Mac
I AM glad to see that two former lecturers from NIHE(Pat & Brigid) are engaged in the future by doing this important! I am still at a loss as to how issues not related to the Lisbon treaty at all were sucessful in getting a no vote!
Good luck!!
It is amazing that everyone is so blinded by the fact that the people said no. I voted no because Europe is headed in a federal direction, it has been since the single European act. I do not agree with the way we are increasing our militarisation. Yes I have heard all the arguments about peace keeping. Please dont insult my intellegence by talking about peace enforcement. If the treaty says we must improve our military capabilities, ok! Why does it not state that we should all improve our education systems and our health systems?? I believe the YES side especially all of you who are involved in this second campaign, are taking the people for granted. There were very real ideas out there why we voted no. You simplified them and now you expect us to trust you. Do not take the people of ireland for granted. We are a hell of a lot more intellegent than you give us credit for. Treat us with respect!
Tá eolas faoin gConradh as Gaeilge le fáil anseo:
http://europa.eu/lisbon_treaty/index_ga.htm
Just to add that the irish language is the 23 official language of EU.All EU legislation is being translated in your language.That only scraps the argument that the EU wants to take away all national identities.It is also proof of what irish diplomacy can do in Europe and EU,if it keeps it’s influence and be “at the heart of Europe”.Because the Dutch were opposing the irish language becoming a EU official one, and the Netherlands is a country with 4 times the population of Ireland and one of the founders of EEC.That also scraps the argument that smaller countries have no say over large ones.
I am reading the Treaty at the moment.I specifically focused on the issues of neutrality, militarization and conscription.Can you believe it? I haven’t come across the word “conscription” in the Treaty at all! A big lie that is busted.Simply.
And I really hope that the irish realise the role of British owned media in their country.A lot of newspapers that circulate in Ireland are owned by UK companies and form about 40% of the sales of newspapers in their country.A lot of them are anti-EU.While the british though stay securely comfortable since they have ratified the treaty, the irish are left to do their work,and potentially lose the influence and their hard earned diplomatic successes in Europe.For what?Why risk the influence in Europe and allow yourselves being allienated in EU?
Good luck so with this project, I will be watching closely and if any opportunity arises,even help.
I will also urge, like the anti-Lisbon campaign received help and support from non-Irish parties from all over Europe, that the pro-Lisbon campaign bring also people from all over EU to talk, debate, explain to the irish people what the Treaty is all about and why we need it…
FAO: Concubhar Ó Liatháin.
Whoever is responsible for the demise of the Irish language over the last few centuries it isn’t the EU.
Some years ago the EU granted the Irish Language full official status at the request of the Irish government. They did this in spite of the fact that the number of people using the language for ordinary communication is almost miniscule. I don’t think there is any other state or conglomeration of states on the face of the earth that would grant such status to such a little used language.
As a user of Irish, (I won’t put it any higher than that), the language’s status within the EU gives me a certain amount of satisfaction. However, many of my acquaintances, who have no interest in the Irish language regard it all as a bit silly.
It seems to me that the EU does, to paraphrase what you said, draw from its many different strands and try to make the sum greater than its constituent parts. I just wouldn’t be so sure about your own countrymen.
I agree. We need all the YES help we can get. This is a great initiative and I am pleased that Pat Cox is involved.
Gerry Murphy
Great to see common sense prevailing at last! I think people need to know that the real opponents of the Lisbon Treaty are in fact the UK Government and that they, along with their neocon buddies in the US, are the invisible force behind Ganley and Libertas. They want to scrap Lisbon but don’t want to end up with ‘egg on their face’, so they’re trying to get us to do it for them.
The creeping centralisation of power in the EU is a problem admittedly, but more so for the UK – Ireland should not have to be the ‘cat’s paw’ that sorts it out for everyone else, and suffers a damaged reputation in the process. We should only insist on maintaining our own tax regime and forget the ‘wish-list’ of requirements from the Brussels Deal which are unrealistic…Lisbon will ultimately spin itself out because it will be as unworkable for so many of the other EU states as it is for us.
If the British are the ones most anxious about Lisbon they should speak up about it themselves and stop trying to put us in the line of fire instead.
It seems to me that a significant proportion of the Irish voting population have a difficulty with Ireland sharing some soverignty in decision making with 26 of our European neighbours – even on matters where it seems to make sense to do so e.g. removal of trade barriers, common currency, international crime, climate change, research etc., etc.
This resistance to soverignty sharing seems to be very deep seated and permanent, and most those who feel that way are, I suspect, beyond convincing. Hence there will always be an automatic “no” vote of perhaps 30 – 40% of the voting public on this issue. We have to respect the position of such voters, and there is nothing we can do about that, even though it may appear to be a baffling position to those of us who believe in the obvious merits of soverignty sharing on certain key issues.
The only hope the “yes” campaigners have is to persuade the 10 -15 percent who are “swing” voters, and who were either confused, uncertain, annoyed or whatever last time around and voted “no” accordingly.
We should forget about trying to convince the Patricia McKenna’s and those who are instinctively and fundamentally opposed to soverignty sharing to change their minds. They have a perfect right to vote “no”, and it’s a waste of time and effort to try to persuade them otherwise.
Hence let us focus on credible clarifications for the swing voters as being the only realistic strategy to maximise the “yes” vote this time around.
It is vital that we get a yes vote this time round. We need to counteract the lies of the no side. We need to get out there and spread the message. Best of Luck to everybody and vote YES.
An Irish Bedtime Story for all Nice Children and not so Maastricht Adults
http://ceolas.net/#eu7x
The Happy Family
Once upon a time there was a family treaty-ing themselves to a visit in Lisbon.
On the sunny day that it was they decided to go out together.
Everyone had to agree on what they would do.
“So”, said Daddy Brusselsprout “Let’s all go for a picnic!”
“No”, said Aunt Erin, “I don’t want to”.
Did they then think of something else, that they might indeed agree on?
Oh yes they did?
Oh no they didn’t!
Daddy Brusselsprout asked all the others anyway, isolating Erin, and then asked her if instead, she would like to go with them to the park and eat out of a lunch basket….
Kids, we’ll finish this story tomorrow, and remember, in the EU yes means yes and no means yes as well!
The most important thing this campaign can do is to counter the absolute rubbish spouted by some in the “No” camp. The political parties failed miserably to do this the first time and that is why it is crucial that someone does it now. Every opportunity to respond to the statements from the “No” camp should be taken. If all the public hear is scare stories from the No camp then is it any wonder that they start to believe them? Best of luck to everyone involved – I will be doing my bit to explain it all to my friends and family.
Hi there,
Reasons for a no-voter to think about voting yes this time round are many. But to give a few, if we vote yes then:
√ Ireland, like every other State, will get to keep its permanent EU Commissioner, meaning we always have a seat at the table. We lose that right without Lisbon.
√ Power to the Parliament – A more democratic EU with our MEPs now getting decision-making powers over almost all areas of EU law, and the EU Budget.
√ A greater role in EU law-making for national parliaments: the Dail would get the power to review draft EU laws
√ The Treaty contains provisions which will help countries to deal with the economic crisis together.
√ Being able to fight cross-border crimes, like drug smuggling and human-trafficking.
√ A greater role for the European Ombudsman, who citizens can come to if they have a grievance with the EU Institutions.
And more broadly, these are changes 26 other countries have agreed to, and are keen to see put into action. If Ireland holds up this kind of progress, there’s very little certainty about where the EU is going, and where Ireland fits into the picture.
How is this organisation funded? Do you receive funding or other assistance from the EU?