TONY ALLWRIGHT,
Sir, - Lucinda Creighton (September 25th) reiterates an oft-quoted non-sequitur: "if we vote No to Nice. . .Ireland would no longer be at the heart of EU decision making and would be marginalised in Europe. Our bargaining power would be dramatically reduced. . .Foreign investment in Ireland would fall as we were seen to have lost our traditional influence in Europe."
On the contrary, a Yes vote would be taken for granted by EU politicians. We will be just the 15th ratifier, nothing special, and we'd soon be forgotten. A No vote, on the other hand, would cause ructions among the EU politicians.
The whole Nice treaty would have to be renegotiated and you can be sure Ireland would be listened to very carefully - if resentfully - in those discussions.
In other words, Ireland's influence, with its pesky devotion to democratic behaviour, would be enormously increased, both in the Nice renegotiations and thereafter - at least until we are persuaded to change the Constitution to eliminate referendums. - Yours, etc.,
TONY ALLWRIGHT, Killiney, Co Dublin.
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Sir, - In June 2001, in a free, fair and democratic referendum, the Irish people voted to reject the Treaty of Nice.
Now after little over a year, the Irish political élite are forcing the Irish people to vote again on exactly the same treaty.
Article 6.1 of the Constitution of Ireland states: "All powers of government, legislative, executive and judicial, derive, under God, from the people, whose right it is to designate the rulers of the State and, in final appeal, to decide all questions of national policy, according to the requirements of the common good."
The people's decision should have been final. By forcing the Irish people to vote again, the élite are telling the people they have the right to vote only if they vote Yes. This is not democracy. The fact that the case for a Yes vote is advocated by those who offer nothing but threats and personal abuse is a clear indication of the kind of "democracy" we can expect if as a result of these threats the Irish are frightened into reversing their decision.
While it is clear that the Irish people voted to reject the treaty for a variety of reasons, the decisio, once made, should have been accepted.
PANA opposed the Treaty because it did not include a protocol, similar to that which already applies to Denmark, which would exclude Ireland from paying for, or involvement with, the European Rapid Reaction Force. Denmark has not been covered over by the North Sea, and if Ireland got such a protocol, there is no evidence that any harm would come to Ireland either.
PANA believes the treaty will be rejected again because all power does derive from the people and the rich élite, no matter how many threats, or how much money they spend, cannot intimidate the people. We were part of a militarised union for generations. We have been there, done that, and do not want to do it again. - Yours, etc.,
ROGER COLE, Chair, Peace and Neutrality Alliance, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
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Sir, - Following the revelations about Charlie McCreevy allegedly misleading voters before the last election, I wish to make a plea to those same voters who are now being asked to vote for the Nice Treaty.
While it is understandable that people may wish to punish the Government for its deception, I urge your readers not to do so by rejecting the Nice Treaty a second time. As the head of a technology company with customers across Europe, and as somebody who employs a number of highly skilled people here in Ireland, I ask people to consider the implications of voting No.
Ireland has seen great benefits from being a member of the EEC and the EU and were it not for Europe, my business would simply not exist, nor would the jobs that I have created. If we reject this treaty a second time, any shred of remaining goodwill from our counterparts in Europe will evaporate, and we will be seen as a highly selfish, self-absorbed people - especially if we reject the Treaty because of an unrelated, internal issue.
We cannot take our anger out on orphans who have spent their entire childhood chained to cots in Romanian orphanages, who have never heard of Ireland - let alone Charlie McCreevy - and who have no hope of a change in living conditions if we deny them access to Europe. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN BECKETT, Corr Castle, Sutton, Dublin 13.
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Sir, - Would Charlie McCreevy's contemptuous dismissal of EU warnings about the need for fiscal rectitude be an example of the kind of independent voice we are fearful of losing if Nice is ratified?
Is it possible an enlarged EU could spare us the current insulting round of guff about "financial adjustments"?
I'm voting Yes. - Yours, etc.,
GERARD LEE, St Agnes Park, Dublin 12