I will be canvassing with Ireland 4 Europe and other groups for a yes vote, simply because the arguments for if we voted no will not change the Laval judgment for example, on Posting of Workers Directive. What it will do is allow a majority of National Parliaments to send a directive back if another one like this occurs, unlike the current system which doesn’t allow that.
1)Laval Judgement not reversed by No vote.
Let me explain about it- So those reasons such as the Laval Judgement that Cóir appear to mention on their posters, lower wages for imported foreign staff on their home wage levels will not be reversed by a No Vote. Our laws stand here, regardless of imported staff. So voting No does not benefit us, it takes us from the centre of influence for sure.
Some will argued Lisbon copperfastens it. In fact it makes no difference whether you vote yes or no, that judgement stands under existing Treaties under free market rules. This for me makes me feel that No are trying to cod us.
2) We lose our Commissioner by voting No.
Some argued voting No in 2008 made sense. The fact was by voting No we at the moment lose our Commissioner in 2010 rather than 2014 under Lisbon 1.
However, Sinn Féin argued the point then that by voting No we could get a better deal. Well you can pull that one once. And we did get a better deal. The Council of Ministers agreed that we will not lose our Commissioner for 5 years under protocols to the Lisbon 2 Treaty. In that sense it is therefor a different proposal to Lisbon 1. Voting yes keeps us at the Commission table and is better than the Niece situation we are under now and better also than Lisbon 1. The Lisbon 1 proposal was born out of the reasoning that a smaller Commission was more efficient and that smaller members should rotate back when Niece was signed. However since then loss of influence became less sensible to the electorates and encouraged Euroscepticism about loss of influence, So Lisbon 1 delayed its introduction by 5 years. Lisbon 2 kicks it into touch and removes the Niece reduction. If you voted No in 2008 you can vote yes knowing you got a better deal!
3) Claims:
* Lisbon does not open our low tax rates to attack – declarations copperfasten, and have legal effect, and we won’t be losing badly-needed jobs from Lisbon 2 yes, we will by voting No because it questions our commitment to the European team in the minds of multinationals who want to be at the heart of Europe;
* The treaty has no effect on the right of every Irish person to earn even the minimum wage either via yes or no. Laval judgement stands whether we vote yes or no. Not a reason to vote No.
3) Voting No will be good for creating Jobs.
Well not being at the heart of Europe and losing influence cannot instill confidence in multinationals, its why they’re urging a Yes Vote and Not a no Vote.
4) Despite the fact Cóir argued for a No to Niece, they have found evidence that the EU is working better since the new 10 member states joined, in terms of legislation and so forth.
5)Europe brought equality for women against the conservative catholic approach of the time. If people really want us to leave the EU, then voting Yes gives us the democratic tools to do so. As a secular person I do believe that women who become pregnant, who will face the financial burdens should have the right to decide if they are ready for the responsibility. The Born should have precedence. Of course I’m all for waiting periods, and much counselling on the issue and having the structures in place to discourage abortion. Absolutely, I’m against abortion without pre-counselling involving speaking to mums about coping if they decided against abortion but I’m against the blanket disallowance of it as a last option for those who don’t want to have children ad export it. Most women given the right supports will have kids. But structures are necessary to make it a viable option. If the family support is not there, then ultimately it does not do any good to society to raise a child in poverty, an overstressed mum and later a child that is much more likely to grow into a destructive adult. Where supports are there, then absolutely mums can overcome the difficulties and raise a productive member of society.
Its better now than in the religious days, no thanks to the church and its often sending away those who became pregnant out of wedlock. That’s why its important to be weary of conservatism which likes to take away choice and control. Some of these are the same elements arguing for vote no under rebrand.
We can’t always rely on our state to vindicate our rights, so we need Europe to help us do so. Using emotive language about paying the price. We sure will pay the price of voting No again.
5) We lose influence under Lisbon 2 compared to Germany?
This is incorrect because, 55% under qualified majority must agree to the policy representing 65% of the population. That is democratic. Currently it is 74% total weighting. At least 4 states must object.Energy, Asylum and Emigration are 3 new QMV areas but again they are designed to streamline policy and there are enough small member states to block anything we don’t agree with in terms of population.
6) Instead of Council of Ministers having final say over agriculture, Asylum, immigration and the EU Budget, European Parliament will have co-decision powers, making this more democratic. The Irish people can express their will better through their MEPs than before under Lisbon 2. The burden of 6 month EU Presidency is replaced by an elected President of the Council for 2.5 and re-elected for same, meaing total 5 years.
7) Right to life, family and education, taxation and defence wil be bound to the next EU treaty as a protocol. This is an international agreement of the European Council and will become EU law during the next EU accession. This is contrary to what No campaigners say, it will become EU law within the next few years as will the charter.
sad to see this happen. It was a valiant effort by Lee Walsh and James Hyland and they are to be commended for their efforts. No doubt they have gained valuable experience.Unfortunately music TV is too competitive already. However it might have something in supplying TV3 with morning music programming for 3e. See: 