Minister 'looking forward' to second vote on Lisbon
Friday January 16 2009
IT would be "undemocratic" not to re-run the Lisbon Treaty referendum, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin claimed yesterday.
Mr Martin said the Government fully accepted the result of the first referendum and that it had set about understanding the people's concerns.
The Government's goal was to chart a way forward to respect the will of the people, but this did not mean turning our backs on Europe or "hiding behind the meaningless mantra that 'No means No'," he said.
"While the outcome of the referendum was simple -- that is the nature of a yes/no question -- the factors underpinning it were both complex and worthy of detailed examination and reflection," he said.
"To simply leave matters there, as some claim we should have done, would, in fact, have been deeply undemocratic. In voting, the people were communicating both with us, as the Government and with the European Union. It was very important that their voice will be fully heard. For that to happen, it had to be clearly understood," he said.
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Concerns
"That is why we resolved not to ignore but to engage with the people's concerns as reflected in the result. We were determined to see if they could be responded to in a manner acceptable to Ireland and to all 26 other member states," he said.
Speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs, Mr Martin also said it was time to have a serious national debate about Ireland's place in Europe.
"This cannot just be about the details of the Lisbon Treaty or the important concessions we secured last month.
"We need to think about the big picture of Ireland's future in Europe alongside the details of the Lisbon Treaty. There is a need to decide where we stand," he said.
Minister Martin said that, assuming the Government gets the legal guarantees it wants, he looked forward "with confidence, and with trust in the people, to another European referendum this year".
"I do not want a repeat of last year's morass of misinformation and eurosceptic phobias, but a mature debate focused on the bigger picture."
- Fionnan Sheahan
