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How will you be voting in today’s Lisbon referendum?



No

Yes

I’m not sure yet.

I will not be voting.

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2 Comments
John Doyle
2009-10-02 15:26:40 ET

I voted Yes, mainly because I read the treaty and have no issues with any of the changes.
I've no issue with people voting no, as long as they some reasoning behind it. Nobody I've met from the "No" camp seems to have a properly substantiated coherent argument. Generally they seem to be misinformed morons.

2009-10-02 15:30:46 ET

I voted no, mainly because of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and a belief that Lisbon has nothing to do with the economy. Since Spain voted yes in 2005, their economy has collapsed with a doubling of unemployment to 18% - the highest in the EU. This is just giving away hardwon sovereignty for nothing. Lisbon exacerbates the race to the bottom and promotes the exploitation of migrant labour - with all that implies for workers in host societies - to drive down pay and conditions. Article 6 of the Treaty on European Union as amended by Lisbon enshrines the Charter of Fundamental Rights into EU law on a level-footing with the Treaties. Furthermore, under the proposed Article 29.4.6 of the Irish Constitution (Paragraph 6 of the 28th Amendment to the Constitution Bill), EU law overrides national law and even the Irish Constitution. This means that the Charter will override the Irish Constitution and Irish law. The argument that Article 29.4.10 of the Constitution already makes EU law supreme over national law misses the point - namely, that as the scope of EU law increases with successive treaties, the effective meaning of such terminology changes, as the Irish Constitution is further eroded as ever more decisions can be taken in new areas that render the Constitution null and void, to all intents and purposes. For the first time we are being asked to make the Charter of Fundamental Rights part of EU law, meaning that it will override the Irish Constitution. Article 15(1) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights appears to force Ireland to allow asylum-seekers to work. The fact that the UK has an optout from the Charter creates the prospect of Ireland and Malta being the only English-speaking EU countries to allow asylum seekers to work. That can only result in another large influx of cheap labour, and their exploitation at the hands of unscrupulous employers - themselves often the benefactors of politicians. The Government claims we have an optout on Justice and Home Affairs - but the text of the referendum wording allows the Government/Oireachtas (Paragraph 7) allows them to abolish it. I don't want Ireland to be reduced to a 0.9% say on practically every area of national sovereignty.


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