PADRAIC LYONS,
Sir, - Anthony Coughlan (September 16th) again makes the inaccurate and spurious point that Nice is somehow likely to threaten Ireland's corporate tax rate.
Ireland has at the present the lowest tax rate in the EU. Nice does nothing to change that. The situation before and after Nice is identical: Ireland has and continues to have an absolute veto on tax.
Perhaps from an individual, who, over the past 30 years, has so consistently and completely misunderstood what Europe is about, such inaccuracies are to be expected, but they do nothing to add to the real debate about Nice. His expertise on Europe is demonstrated by the fact that he has predicted doom and disaster at each and every European referendum and each time he has been wrong.
Mr Coughlan implies that some member-states would use enhanced co-operation in the tax area. What he doesn't mention is that those states can co-operate on tax at the moment if they want: enhanced co-operation under Nice gives us the ability to influence their actions. But enhanced co-operation by other states has no effect on our policies.
The key point about enhanced co-operation is that member-states can opt in or out as they see fit. Before Nice and after Nice Ireland can set its tax rates at whatever level it likes. And if other states decide to raise their tax rates, that only increases our own competitive advantage. Mr Coughlan's points are not only unconnected with the Nice Treaty: they are also self-contradictory.
If he has some positive reason for voting No it would be interesting to hear, but as there are no positive social, economic or political reasons for voting No I'm afraid it's more likely we'll instead hear more dubious points, disingenuously made, like this one.
Mr Coughlan hankers after an Ireland where our sovereignty was not shared - a sovereignty that meant we were ignored internationally, where our chief export was our people and not our products, and where our currency valuation lay at the whim of the Bank of England. By sharing our sovereignty over limited areas, we gained independence, influence and a place on the world stage.
Ireland's place is at the heart of the European Union and the Treaty of Nice is necessary to ensure an effective and enlarged Europe. This is in our interest and in the interest of all the peoples of Europe.
The future of Ireland and of Europe will be guaranteed by a Yes vote. - Yours, etc.,
PADRAIC LYONS,
National Spokesperson,
Ireland for Europe,
Hampton Square,
Dublin 7.
A chara, - Your Editorial of September 6th stated that a "notable feature" of my Dáil contribution on the Nice Treaty referendum was that I "ignored the fact that voters are being offered their own opt-out clause from an EU common defence pact". Not so.
I pointed out that since Nice 1 we have seen the Government further violating our neutrality by allowing US war planes to use Shannon Airport on their way to fight the war in Afghanistan. We have seen them allow those planes to carry out exercises over our south-west coast. This is the reality behind the rhetoric about neutrality and the Seville declaration.
Seville did not change one syllable in the Treaty of Nice. Denmark exercised its right to opt out of the Rapid Reaction Force, the core of an EU army, and we could and should have done the same thing. A Yes vote will consolidate our position in that force and enshrine in our Constitution a treaty that establishes the EU Political and Security Committee as the controlling body of this nascent EU army.
The proposed amendment regarding "common defence" is not a neutrality amendment. As my colleague Aengus Ó Snodaigh pointed out in the Dáil, the Government's view of neutrality is so narrowly focused as to render it meaningless. Rather than using it as a positive element of an independent foreign policy, the Government almost apologises for the fact that we are supposed to be neutral.
While the Government may be embarrassed and ashamed of our neutrality, the people are not. It is a core part of any country's sovereignty that it be able to define its own international relations and to react with honesty and integrity to specific situations as they arise.
It is to be regretted that the outgoing leadership of the Labour Party accepted this totally inadequate "common defence" amendment as a "saver" to secure their support for a Yes vote. It is even more regrettable that they and others resort to the hopeless argument that we should support the development of the EU as (in Romano Prodi's words) a "world power" in order to provide a counterbalance to the US as a superpower.
Is our foreign policy to be reduced to a choice between subservience to one or other of these power blocs?
Neutrality should be viewed as a key element of an active and independent foreign policy. The people have the opportunity to assert that principle when they vote No for a second time to the Nice Treaty. - Is mise,
CAOIMHGHÍN
Ó CAOLÁIN TD,
Teach Laighean,
Baile Átha Cliath 2.