“The Government is going to come back to EU leaders in October with a ‘solution’ to this problem and we reject this approach,” Brendan Young of the Campaign Against the EU Constitution said at a press conference in Dublin.

“We will campaign against any re-run of the Lisbon Treaty. We will seek the largest No vote if the Government dares to re-run a treaty that people believe is dead,” he added.

Richard Boyd Barrett of the Irish Anti-War Movement said it was “clear Brian Cowen does not respect the No vote”.

“If Cowen respected the No vote he would have gone to the European Council and said the decision is final. He is not saying that. He is trying to soften the Irish people up,” he said.

“It is unacceptable to ask us to vote a second time on the treaty,” Patricia McKenna of the People’s Movement said. “There is a misleading message being sent out that if we reject a second Lisbon Treaty referendum with some additions, we will be isolated.”

The Government was also criticised for disrespecting the No vote. “The Government is mandated by the Irish people not to renegotiate but to be part of a new direction for Europe,” Daithí Doolan of Sinn Féin said.

An immediate halt to ratification by other EU states was called for by the coalition which wants the EU to take a new political direction. “The idea that the EU can go ahead without Ireland is false and everyone knows it,” Ms McKenna said.

“It is not a change of emphasis we want but a root-and-branch reform,” Mr Doolan said. “People are looking for a more social Europe.”

Members of the coalition were also confident that there would be a stronger No vote a second time around and that there would be little support from lower ranks of mainstream political parties.

“With local elections coming up, many councillors do not want to go near a referendum,” Mr Doolan said.

“They would have to convince people they didn’t convince the last time around – it is difficult to sell the idea that it is worth doing a second time,” said Mr Young.

France takes over the presidency of the EU today. The group plans to hold a protest against the visit of Mr Sarkozy to Ireland on July 11th.

It is calling on him to respect the French and Dutch votes on the EU constitution and the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

“Mr Sarkozy with his Gaullist delusions is intent on getting the foreign policy and militarisation proposals through,” said Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party, referring to the French president as “Mr Neoliberalist himself”.

“We hope Sarkozy realises it is a mistake to find a way to force the treaty through,” Ms McKenna added. The coalition will also hold a public debate on the future direction of Europe on July 20th.

See www.caeuc.org

They said a No vote would increase the prospect of a “social progress” clause being agreed to protect the rights of workers.

Watch RTE News Report on press conference here

They said this was something which was not achieved by the inclusion of the Charter of Fundamental Rights within the treaty.

Speaking at a final press conference at Unite’s offices in Dublin, Jimmy Kelly, regional secretary of the union, said he was urging private and public sector workers to reject the treaty.

In a strong criticism of the attacks launched by the Yes side on the anti-treaty campaigners, Mr Kelly said it was not just the “rich and powerful” who were entitled to a voice.

He said the treaty had been formulated before the findings were known of three key European Court of Justice rulings which cover the rights of unions to take industrial action.

At a European level, work was already under way by the union movement to address the consequences of the Laval, Viking and Ruffert cases.

“[The idea of] a social progress clause is already at the top table within the European trade union movement,” he told The Irish Times . “What we’re saying is that a rejection of the treaty in Ireland moves it centre stage.”

The possibility of a victory for the No campaign was “absolutely on the table”, Mr Kelly said, adding that this was “an important week for the Republic of Ireland”.

The press conference heard a range of contributions from senior members of various unions, including Siptu, ASTI and the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU). Many appeared in a personal capacity to argue the case for a No vote.

Several contributors argued that the treaty served to promote the “neo-liberal” agenda and privatisation of services in the health and education sectors.
Eddie Conlon, a former honorary secretary of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), said the Charter of Fundamental Rights would not give workers the rights which those on the Yes side had claimed.

He said it was noteworthy that a deal on the rights of agency workers had been agreed – after such measures were opposed by the Government “all along” – just days before the referendum.

Frank Keoghan, a member of the executive committee of the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union, said the impact of the recent European Court of Justice rulings was that “market rights come first, and workers rights come second”

Take from John Downes article in Irish Times 11/06/08

People Before Profit canvass on Grafton Street today

Richard Boyd Barrett, of the People Before Profit Alliance, today accused those campaigning for a Yes vote in Thursday’s referendum of raising “straw-man” arguments as part of their campaign tactics. He also accused some sections of the media of ignoring the real issues by over-focusing on business interests in the debate.

In a statement, Mr Boyd Barrett said recent polls showed that the No sentiment is disproportionately coming from the working class and young people who are directly affected by issues such as workers rights and public services.

He said that key areas of the debate such as public services, privatisation, EU militarisation and neutrality are being underplayed or simply ignored, with the Yes side trying to “brow beat the public the public into voting for the treaty using fear and the dishonest argument that it was about being pro- or anti-Europe”.

Mr Boyd Barrett described the Treaty as an erosion of democracy as it would give “greater power to people who are either not elected at all or who are not directly elected by Irish citizens”.

The People Before Profit Alliance will continue its campaign today on Grafton Street in Dublin. Speakers will include Mr Boyd Barrett, group co-convenor Ailbhe Smyth and Kieran Allen, a member of Siptu’s education branch.

People Before Profit will be delivering tens of thousands of leaflets and canvassing in the last few days of the campaign.

Ailbhe Smyth, spokesperson for People Before Profit Alliance said:

“This recent poll confirms the message we’re hearing from voters all over the country: the Treaty is incomprehensible, the explanatory brochure from the Referendum Commission fails to explain it, and the YES side can’t manage to give us any sound reasons as to why we should vote Yes. We have felt the tide turning in the No direction over the past few days and believe that the Treaty will be closely rejected by the electorate.”

Richard Boyd Barrett of the People Before Profit Alliance said:

“The results of the Poll show that a majority of Irish people are opposed to the Lisbon Treaty as they are concerned about the increasing power of the EU, the introduction of water charges, private companies into public services, the reduction in worker’s conditions and the drive to increase military cooperation that is at the heart of the Lisbon Treaty.

For No speakers from People Before Profit contact:

Ailbhe Smyth 0872055433

Richard Boyd Barrett 0876329511

Eddie Conlon 0876775468

The Lisbon Treaty would accelerate the privatisation of health and social services, making access to these more difficult for women and children, a press conference heard.

The treaty would lead to a Europe that sees women as economic producers first and foremost, said Ailbhe Smith, academic and member of the People Before Profit organisation.

One of 10 women who spoke at a press conference of women against the treaty, she said the “much vaunted” Charter of Fundamental Rights failed to give new protections to women “and nowhere is the key issue of childcare addressed”.

Watch RTE NEWS REPORT here, press conference at end of report on Lisbon Treaty.

Bríd Smith of the Unite trade union, which has called for a No vote, said the treaty would lessen the capacity of unions to seek better pay and conditions for the most vulnerable workers, such as part-time and agency staff, who were predominantly women.

“The Charter of Fundamental Rights must be applied according to the prevailing circumstances in the country of origin. In this country we have no right to collective bargaining,” she said.

Rita Fagan, a community activist in Dublin’s south inner city, said the recent failure of public-private partnerships to deliver social housing should underline the danger of voting for a treaty, which would see further privatisation of social services.

Patricia McKenna of the Green Party said the treaty would require “legally binding commitments” from member states “to facilitate the expansion of the arms industry”.

Sinead Kennedy, an academic, contrasted today’s press conference with that of pro-Lisbon women who held a conference yesterday – “women like barristers and doctors, at the top of the social pile, who will do quite well out of this treaty”. She said the Treaty would most hurt the least well off and least powerful as it would “increase the power of corporate Europe”.

Also speaking today were community worker Cathleen O’Neill, health analyst Marie O’Connor, Louise Minihan of Sinn Féin, Therese Caherty of the Campaign Against the EU Constitution and Independent Galway city councillor, Catherine Connolly.

(Taken from Irish Times article by Kitty Holland. Images by Paula Geraghty)

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