The Taoiseach has today described the passing of the Lisbon referendum as critical to the State’s economic recovery.
Speaking to the Institute of Public Administration in Dublin today, Mr Cowen said there was “an understandable degree of shock and distress” over the consequences being felt by people during the recession. He said it was now necessary to undertake the task of rebuilding economic capacity "and restoring confidence at home and abroad".
The Taoiseach said the State had to rebuild its reputation at home through a new financial regulation system "to ensure that the lessons of the recent past are learnt and fully applied," adding: "It is about restoring confidence in our capacity to manage our own fiscal affairs, sensibly and with determination.
"It is also about confidence in our place in the wider world, beginning with our place in Europe. That is why a successful outcome to the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is a critical ingredient, in some ways the critical first step, on the path to recovery.
Mr Cowen, speaking during a conference on the public sector, said the upcoming referendum was a decision or whether the State was "relevant at Europe's heart or whether to risk being relegated to the margins of influence and engagement".
"We need to ratify the Lisbon Treaty because it is good for Ireland, because it is good for Europe, because it is good for workers' rights; but most of all, because it is good for jobs. Our membership and clear commitment to our future in Europe play an important role in attracting Foreign Direct Investment to this country."
"Difficult as our current economic challenges may be, the euro has prevented the current crisis in Ireland being far worse."
Mr Cowen said the European Union had been a driver of positive change and progress in the area of workers’ rights. "It has been instrumental, for example, in shaping the comprehensive legislative framework for employment rights and protections which we have in place in Ireland today.
"Equal pay and equal opportunity in Ireland has its roots in our membership of the European Union. Indeed, it should be noted that by introducing the Equal Pay Directive and the Equal Treatment Directive, our first commissioner, the late, great Patrick Hillery brought into existence the very first European laws to implement the principle of equality between men and women in the workplace."
The Taoiseach told his audience these laws were a "noble legacy . . . of which every Irish person should be hugely proud".
"It is my firm belief that ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will be a further positive step for workers in Ireland and across the European Union - not least because it will confer legal status on the Charter of Fundamental Rights."
He also rejected claims the treaty would lead to privatisation of public services.
"I want to rebut this notion categorically. The organisation of public services will remain a matter for each member state to decide upon. Any perceived threat to this . . . is illusory. The European Commission itself has stated that the Lisbon Treaty brings no change in this area, and that trade agreements such as the Doha round of world trade talks will still need unanimous approval by EU member states.
"So while privatisation of public services is not on the EU agenda at all, even the suggestion that it could be forced upon us through other fora is simply wrong."
