Party publishes guide advocating No vote

SINN FÉIN CAMPAIGN:SINN FÉIN has published an alternative guide to the Lisbon Treaty outlining its reasons for recommending a no vote.

The party said the treaty had not changed substantially from that rejected by Irish voters in June last year and the same issues arose despite the guarantees secured by the Government which they described as meaningless.

Sinn Féin claims there are five reasons for saying no: it is a bad deal for Ireland; it reduces Ireland’s power in the EU; makes the economic crisis worse by forcing through policies that caused the recession; erodes neutrality by drawing us into a common defence; and removes our right to a referendum on future changes to existing treaties.

It says the treaty gives the EU more than 100 additional powers across a wide range of policy areas with the loss of 60 votes for individual member states.

The party said the treaty would make the economic situation worse. The protocol on the internal market and competition provides the EU with a mandate to remove “distortions” to service provision which puts the requirements of industry ahead of that of workers and is supported by a number of judgments including the Laval judgment, it believes.

Speaking at the launch, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the Government had failed to secure a better deal for Ireland and the EU.

“The Government has failed to secure a single change to the text of the Lisbon Treaty”.