Taoiseach pledges Government will set up national forum to debate future of Europe

The Government has agreed in principle to the establishment of a national Forum on Europe, similar to the Forum for Peace and Reconciliation.

During a two-hour debate on the defeat of the Nice Treaty referendum, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, also said the Government had launched an urgent review of the factors that led to the No vote.

This would include the reasons why two-thirds of the electorate failed to vote. "The way the Oireachtas monitors and evaluates ongoing EU business will form a core part of our work."

The forum on Europe would include representatives of the political parties and the social partners and "will have all the resources necessary", he said, accepting the Labour Party proposal. This would be part of a future of Europe debate by all EU members leading up to an Intergovernmental Conference in 2004.

Mr Ahern did not agree with any analysis that the "Irish people in voting on Thursday acted out of any selfish or narrow interest". But he said the question for Ireland now was as it was 30 years ago - "whether we are better off co-operating and pooling our resources and sovereignty with similar, like-minded states in the EU than we would be on our own". He rejected "simplistic attempts to play on fears of the possible loss of sovereignty or independence", and said "our consistent national policy towards the EU over the past 30 years has done far more to enhance our real sovereignty than standing aside would have done".

The Tanaiste, Ms Harney hit out at the Opposition, who had indulged in a "blame game" by accusing her of causing a No vote because of a speech and comments she made. "I would do exactly the same again," she said. "I do not believe in stifling debate as the clear implication of the Opposition's position would be." She was for Nice and enlargement but against a European super-state; for Euro-realism and against Euro-scepticism; for enterprise and job creation and against state barriers.

Ireland's future, she said, was as a "fully engaged, active participant in a dynamic and expanded Europe. This will need appropriate democratic decision-making at national and European level, allocated in ways that have the assent of the population."

Democracy is not well served by ill-informed and condescending interventions, the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, said.

The Irish electorate was "more sophisticated than that in many other countries with which we have close links", he said. Those who abstained from last week's referendum were making a comment on the way they had been treated. Those who voted No were expressing a legitimate point of view.

The most glaring "failure of the Taoiseach's leadership", said Mr Noonan, was his inability to sell the Nice Treaty to the electorate. "Popularity is not much good, Taoiseach, unless you do something constructive with it." Another element in the Taoiseach's failure was his "inability or unwillingness" to mobilise his Government colleagues.

On May 21st he had warned that the referendum might be lost: "In particular I said that the `Eurosceptical Three' would have to be active in promoting Yes."

Mr Noonan supported the proposal of the Labour Party leader, Mr Quinn, that a European forum should be created on the lines of the earlier forums relating to Northern Ireland. He hoped this proposal would get a positive response from the Taoiseach.

Mr Quinn said the Nice Treaty could not be deemed to have been passed or fallen until the process of ratification had been concluded by the set date - the end of 2002. This raised the possibility of a further referendum. "At the end of the day the people are sovereign and are entitled to review and reverse any decision they have taken."

He found it strange that those who had campaigned for a No vote on the basis of the people's sovereignty appeared to have philosophical difficulties with such a position.

He believed the people had "sent a message to us here in this House" about how the Oireachtas conducted its business.

The No campaign had clearly won the debates, Mr John Gormley (Green Party) said. That was why the Nice Treaty had been rejected by the electorate. People had voted against a Europe of "elites and bureaucrats".

But there was not going to be re-negotiation, he added: "We need to be careful about the vision of Europe." Regardless of the size of the state, everyone must get equal representation.

Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain (SF) said there was no doubt that the "defence of Irish neutrality and independent foreign policy was one of the key issues for people who voted No. They remembered the broken promise to hold a referendum on NATO's Partnership for Peace and they did not trust this Government's promises in relation to neutrality and Nice.

It is imperative that Ireland maintains its positive image as a model EU State for candidate countries, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said.

Mr Cowen said that it would be "most unfortunate for Ireland if the vote last week were misconstrued as an anti-enlargement vote". It would harm Ireland's relations with future partners who would be vital as allies and colleagues around the EU table. It would also "harm our relations with future partners, who will be vital to us as allies and colleagues."

The Minister warned that "those who have suggested that the Irish Government can somehow call a halt to this process are fundamentally out of tune with the situation as it stands. The fact is that each member-state is fully entitled to pursue national ratification in line with its own democratic rights as member-states," he said.