ECONOMY:IRELAND'S ADOPTION of the euro has helped Ireland economically, and will continue to do so in the uncertain times ahead, Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said.
Speaking on a visit to Cork to campaign on the Lisbon Treaty, Mr Cowen hailed the benefits of EU membership, and said a Yes vote in the referendum was necessary to ensure Ireland's economic future, particularly given growing financial uncertainty globally.
"We're not immune from international developments which have brought about a downturn for every economy in the last nine months as a result of what happened on the financial and other markets.
"The fact that we are in more uncertain times now than in the last five-to-10 years, the need to vote Yes in this referendum seems to me to be all the more important because the EU and the euro currency area have provide a zone of stability for us in terms of our monetary policy.
"Our interest rate would be higher were we outside the euro zone, but because we are part of a bigger currency we have the capacity to withstand the turbulent financial markets through the ECB than would be the case if we were standing alone and acting domestically," Mr Cowen said.
"I would have thought the fact that the next couple of years will be a more challenging time, voting Yes in this referendum assists greatly in ensuring we can use the facility that is the European Union to help us through these times."
Mr Cowen said the EU had been good for Ireland by giving producers access to an open market of 500 million as opposed to the limited national market and UK market previously available when Irish exports were mainly agricultural without any value added.
He added that rejection of the Lisbon Treaty could have serious repercussions for future investment in Ireland.
"A thousand plus companies have come to our shores and generated jobs and wealth because this is an English-speaking country that has access to a European market of 500 million.
"If we say No what message are we sending to the international investment community?"
Mr Cowen pointed out that Ibec, the largest body representing job creators, had called for a Yes vote, with 87 per cent of its membership saying that a Yes vote was important for them, believing that a reformed EU would help open up further markets for Irish companies.
Stressing that Ireland had "won every major point it asked for during the negotiations", Mr Cowen said that new areas of activity were balanced with "clear protection for our national interests in areas like corporation tax".
He said that a No vote would also send a wrong signal to our fellow EU members who would not understand how we could benefit so much from EU membership and still not accept a treaty which would allow reform of the union to become more dynamic.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheál Martin, strongly attacked the No campaign, accusing both Libertas and Sinn Féin of misleading the public by claiming the only way for Ireland to retain its EU commissioner was to vote No.
Mr Martin said the No campaign appeared to be focusing on the issue of Ireland's loss of a commissioner once "their scares about abortion, prostitution and corporation tax" had been disproved.