A SECOND rejection of the Lisbon Treaty would have damaging economic consequences and raise doubts about the Republic’s commitment to the EU, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin warned yesterday.
Mr Martin said that last year’s referendum defeat had the potential to cause confusion and misunderstanding among our EU partners and more widely. It was something that the Government had worked very hard to counter, he added.
“Fears have been expressed to the effect that the referendum result could encourage foreign investors to look less favourably on Ireland,’’ said the Minister.
“If the idea of Ireland as a semi-detached European were to take root, this would be very damaging to our economic prospects.’’
Addressing the Institute of International and European Affairs in Dublin, Mr Martin said that last year’s referendum result had shown that our support for the union, though overwhelming, was not a blank cheque.
It showed that people recognised that their concrete interests were at stake in Europe, which was a good thing.
Having secured important guarantees, a decision not to ratify Lisbon would have very serious consequences, and it would be remiss of the Government not to make that clear.
“We have to recognise that our partners in Europe would not know what more they could have done to meet our concerns. They might well come to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do,” the Minister added.
“This would introduce a fundamental shadow of doubt over our commitment to the union. That is not what I want. That is not what I believe the Irish people want.’’
Mr Martin said that if we placed ourselves at odds with our European partners, we would face our present and future challenges in the world with one arm tied behind our back.
“We don’t need to look very hard for examples of small countries who, outside an active community of mutual support and action, find their destinies shaped for them by forces beyond their control,’’ he added.
Mr Martin said that a reason for last year’s No vote was “a feeling of disconnect between ordinary voters and the institutions of the European Union’’. It was not just an Irish problem, he added.
He called for a serious national debate about Ireland’s place in Europe which should not be restricted to the Lisbon Treaty details or the important concessions secured last month.
“We must look again at the wood as well as the trees,’’ the Minister said.
“We need to think about the big picture of Ireland’s future in Europe alongside the details of the Lisbon Treaty.’’
Assuming Ireland received the legal guarantees it had sought, he looked forward with confidence, and with trust in the people, to another European referendum this year.
“I do not want a repeat of last year’s morass of misinformation and Eurosceptic phobias, but a mature debate focused on the bigger picture.
“This will provide an important opportunity for us to think carefully about the kind of Ireland we want for the future and about the role we want Ireland to play in Europe and in the wider world,’’ he added.
Mr Martin said that the people had spoken last year.
“They had real concerns. When these are satisfactorily accommodated, it makes perfect sense to consult the people again,’’ he added.
“Some of those who campaigned for a No vote will inevitably argue for a No vote again. They will do so irrespective of the scope and quality of the assurances we secure. They will argue that there is an attempt to subvert the will of the people.’’
Stressing that he was not speaking of all those who had argued for a No vote, the Minister said that there were many who did so out of positions of integrity and what they saw as Ireland’s best interests.
