Madam, - The amusing spectacle of Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheal Martin and Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea flying kites about European security and defence policy and then shooting them down is matched only by Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche arguing that the European Commission should produce a 10-page, reader-friendly, consolidated text of the Lisbon Treaty three months after the referendum is over! These ministerial meanderings about the fall-out from rejection of the Lisbon Treaty are no substitute for firm proposals for a way forward.
It is time for this dysfunctional Government to acknowledge that it was mainly responsible for leaving the Lisbon stable door open, that the horse has well and truly bolted, and that a concoction of opt-outs, declarations and constitutional amendments will not resolve the situation created by the rejection of the treaty.
In 1992, when Denmark rejected the Maastricht Treaty, that country opted out of the euro, defence, justice and common EU citizenship. The Danish people soon found they had also opted out of a meaningful role in EU decision-making. Ironically, they were in the process of organising a referendum to opt back into these crucial areas until Ireland's rejection of Lisbon scuppered their plans.
As Denmark discovered, there is little value in being half in and half out of the EU. A country must be at the heart of Europe to influence decision-making and play a full role.
It is not sufficient for the Government to speculate about what went wrong with the referendum and wonder if a deletion here and an amendment there will allow a watered-down version of the treaty to be presented again to the people.
The Lisbon Treaty referendum is over.
The Government must conduct a deeper analysis of the European Union and the nature of Ireland's involvement in it. In the first instance the Government must put its own house in order. With a majority of legislation now being initiated at EU level, the role of the Oireachtas is qualitatively different. The proceedings of the Houses of the Oireachtas must be overhauled to reflect that sea-change.
Secondly, the European Affairs Committee representing all political parties and independents in the Dáil should be given a central role to engage with the public and all the stakeholders in conducting a deeper analysis and in planning the way forward. - Yours, etc,
JOE COSTELLO TD,
Labour Party Spokesperson,
on European Affairs,
Dáil Éireann,
Dublin 2.