Madam, - The key players in EU politics are the governments of Germany, France and Britain; then come the rest, including us, each with their own interests and points of leverage. These players do their business in the Council of Ministers, which has always met behind closed doors.
The Lisbon Treaty will change this. Article 2 (28) (a) requires that the Council "shall meet in public. . .when considering and voting on a draft legislative act". This quite radical reform is not talked about much by our political leaders.
They may find it a bit daunting. It will certainly bring about a major change in their working conditions - not just for Government ministers but also for Opposition front-benchers who will be expected to comment on the latest Council debate.
As a citizen I relish the prospect of the Council being opened to the public. It will, of course, be dull enough on most days, but there will be the occasional and pivotal moment of political drama, which we will not see if Lisbon in rejected. These are the moments on which democracy thrives and which European democracy so badly needs. - Yours, etc,
EDMOND GRACE SJ, Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2.
Madam, - I've been a committed trade union member for all of my working life, first joining the Workers Union of Ireland in 1969, and later Siptu, when the WUI amalgamated with the ITGWU to form that union.
I will not, however, be following the line of Siptu general president Jack O'Connor in withholding full support for the Lisbon Treaty. One of the main reasons I'm supporting the Treaty is because of its benefits for working people and their families.
Another good reason for endorsing this treaty is the huge number of barefaced lies being propagated by the main champions of a No vote - Sinn Féin, Libertas and Cóir. - Yours, etc,
OLIVER DONOHOE, Kimmage, Dublin 12.
Madam, - The Lisbon Treaty is a stealth EU Constitution. During my term of office as MEP, from 1999 to 2004, the building of an EU Constitution and the move towards an EU superstate was clearly set out.
I stated this publicly many times and urged our political leaders and elected representatives to uphold the Irish Constitution, for as the "Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe" clearly stated: "The Constitution, and law adopted by the Union's institutions in exercising competence conferred on it, shall have primacy over the law of the Member States".
In 2005, voters in France and the Netherlands soundly rejected this proposed constitution, yet well over 90 per cent of it is contained in the Lisbon Treaty. A simple name change will not change the fact that this is the same EU Constitutional Treaty and adopting Lisbon will profoundly weaken Ireland's position in Europe and undermine our sovereignty and political independence.
I have no doubt that the loss of the primacy of our Irish Constitution will eventually affect our rights and our lives in many different areas: neutrality, taxation, justice and policing, public services, immigration, energy, water, environment etc; and it will undermine the protection for family and life contained in our Constitution.
The people of Ireland have not been afforded an open and truthful debate on the implications of adopting the Lisbon Treaty, and as citizens of other member-states have been denied the right to vote on it, we again stand alone at this crucial time in European history.
We are no less European in upholding the primacy of Ireland's Constitution and protecting the rights of the Irish people, for what is at issue here is not whether we should remain in Europe, but rather what kind of Europe we are to be part of.
Article 9.2 of the Irish Constitution clearly states: "Fidelity to the nation and loyalty to the State are fundamental political duties of all citizens." I believe this to be the express duty of elected members of the Dáil and Seanad - and particularly of the President, whose primary function is as guardian and protector of the Constitution, which exists to protect the rights of Irish citizens.
Our main political parties are yet again united in trying to secure a vote in favour of the Lisbon referendum. The President, however, has the unique privilege and fundamental political duty of being guardian of Ireland's Constitution, to which an oath of allegiance is sworn at the time of taking office. - Yours, etc,
DANA ROSEMARY SCALLON, Claregalway, Co Galway.
Madam, - We, the undersigned, being members of the legal profession, academics in the legal field or members of the Irish Alliance for Europe legal campaign group, believe a Yes vote on Thursday is very much in Ireland's interests.
We are deeply concerned at the level of misinterpretation surrounding the Lisbon Treaty and inaccuracies presented to the public. We set out below some of our key reasons for supporting the Treaty in an effort to add clarity to the debate.
The Lisbon Treaty, which is designed to modernise the EU's decision making system, does not alter the basic nature of the EU but introduces some important institutional innovations that will make the Union more efficient and effective and better equipped to deal with the challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change and globalisation.
Many of the treaty's features are procedural and not amenable to sound-bites. Nonetheless, a more efficient European Union is in the best interests of all its citizens. Many of the treaty's changes respond to the recent enlargement of the EU and aim to increase administrative efficiency and at the same time increase the level of transparency and democratic accountability in the EU's decision making process.
The treaty clearly delimits the powers and responsibilities of the EU and confirms that the EU has only those powers that its member-states confer upon it.
Four areas of the most misleading information in the debate concern foreign policy and defence; tax; abortion; and future changes to the treaty; the widespread untruths should not be allowed to go unchecked.
Unanimity is retained on foreign policy and defence. which require agreement by all member-states. Likewise, Ireland will retain its veto on EU tax policy proposals. The treaty therefore copper-fastens Ireland's veto over tax harmonisation.
The treaty provides in a protocol that EU law cannot affect the prohibition on abortion in the Irish Constitution. Any change to the legal position on abortion in Ireland must be decided by the Irish people in a referendum.
Despite statements to the contrary, this treaty makes it clear that any future changes to the EU Treaties will continue to have to be ratified in accordance with the constitutional requirements of each member-state, which in Ireland's case is by referendum.
This Treaty is very important for the future of Ireland and Europe. - Yours, etc,
DAVID ANDREWS SC, MICHAEL BINCHY, DAVID BYRNE, KATE COLLEARY, SHARON DALY, RICHARD DEVEREUX, PAUL EUSTACE, DAVID GEARY, APRIL GILROY, RICHARD HAMMOND, GERRY KELLY SC, MARTIN G. LAWLOR, CHARLES MEENAN SC, HUGH I. MOHAN SC, COLM MacEOCHAIDH, EOIN McCULLOUGH SC, UNA McGURK SC, PATRICK O'CONNOR, JIM O'CALLAGHAN, RODERIC O'GORMAN, FERGUS O'HAGAN SC, KEVIN O'HIGGINS, MICHAEL O'KENNEDY SC, DESMOND O'MALLEY, ISEULT O'MALLEY SC, Cllr OISIN QUINN, Senator EUGENE REGAN SC, RORY STAINES, ERCUS STEWART SC, DECLAN J. WALSH, TONY WILLIAMS,
Irish Alliance for Europe,
Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin 2.
Tomorrow, polling day, there will be a moratorium on letters debating the pros and cons of the Lisbon Treaty.
Madam, - Martyn Turner's cartoon of June 7th says all that needs to be said about the "arguments" advanced by the No side in the Lisbon Treaty debate.
The Yes side ought to adopt the cartoon at once, with appropriate payment for Mr Turner, as it is far more effective than posters adorned with the faces of politicians who seem to think they are more important than the issue at stake. - Yours, etc,
AIDAN HARMAN, Dillon's Cross, Cork.
Madam, - Like most of the population, I'm reeling from the relentless referendum rhetoric and am totally "theory weary" at this stage. My frayed nerves recoil at the thought of having to endure another helping of this fare, in the event of the treaty not being passed.
This is the most compelling argument I can find for voting Yes on Thursday. - Yours, etc,
GERARD KELLY, New Quay, Co Clare.
Madam, - We can be proud that Ireland stands alone among European countries in holding a public vote on the Lisbon Treaty. But as Europeans, we should be ashamed that only one European country is conducting a full and fair public debate on its merits.
It has been suggested that Ireland would lose face in Europe, and perhaps look small-minded and ungrateful, if she voted No to Lisbon. But the fear that a No vote would alienate some of our European partners should not prevent us from exercising our right as a sovereign nation, to determine our own future (with due regard to the interests of our European neighbours).
Besides, far from being anti-European, in voting No, we will be doing our European neighbours a huge service, since we will be saying No to a treaty on which their citizens have had little or no meaningful say; while a Yes vote will give a jump-start to a project that has failed to win the hearts and minds of other European citizens, and to that extent, lacks democratic legitimacy. - Yours, etc,
DAVID THUNDER, Department of Politics, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA.
Madam, - Like many other citizens I have taken some time to study the Lisbon Treaty and the wealth of explanatory material provided by the Referendum Commission and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The same option is available to anyone. The treaty is incomprehensible only to these who do not wish to take the time to understand it.
What has astonished me is how little of this debate has focused on the actual treaty. In particular, the main points raised by the No side have been proven time and time again either to have nothing to do with the treaty, or to constitute distortion of reality as to be meaningless.
The simple fact is that most of the major problems faced by the peoples of Europe are global problems which demand international co-operation among the nations of Europe if we are to address them. From global warming to building peace and prosperity in the Balkans, to rising international food prices, or the international credit crunch, no one European nation can hope to have an impact on these issues, but together we can make a positive difference. Lisbon is simply an updating of the EU's rules to enable more efficient and more democratic decision making.
This treaty contains no threats to our vital interest and has much to recommend it. The only interests that will be served by a No vote are the interest of Eurosceptics everywhere, but particularly in our nearest neighbour. Since these people have never been well disposed to us in the past I fail to see why Ireland should expend our hard-won political capital and the friendship of our allies to win the approbation of our critics. - Yours, etc,
SEAMUS MULCONRY, Ballinatone, Co Wicklow.
Madam, - The No camp makes me want to vote Yes and the Yes camp makes me want to vote No. - Yours, etc,
SHANE Ó MEARÁIN, Sandymount Road, Dublin 4.
Madam, - Some people have suggested we should simply vote Yes, even if we do not fully understand the implications of the treaty, because most of our politicians wish us to. This is the opposite of what the framers of the Constitution of Ireland intended. They reserved to the people the right to amend the Constitution precisely because they recognised that politicians were not infallible.
This power was not assured to the people so that they could be encouraged simply to rubber-stamp the views of politicians. It was certainly not guaranteed so that the people could be browbeaten by threats and forecasts of economic doom into accepting a treaty manifestly contrary to the political interests of this country. - Yours, etc,
GEOFFREY SUMNER, Newcastle, Galway.
Madam, - Have we in Ireland so soon forgotten the fable of the monkey with its hand in the jar? Because of its greed to hold on to everything, it ended up with nothing. - Yours, etc,
SEAMUS DEVITT, Mount St Alphonsus, South Circular Road, Limerick.