Speaking at Labour Women’s Breakfast Briefing on the Lisbon Treaty today, Joan Burton, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party argued that the balance of Irish interests was best served by its ratification.
“We are here to explain why the Labour Party is supporting the Lisbon Treaty and why we think it will be good for women, good for Ireland and good for Europe.
“In terms of the equality agenda, look at how far we’ve come over the 35 years since Ireland joined the EEC. Equal pay for equal work is a principle enshrined in the Treaties of Rome, supported by judgements of the European Court of Justice and reinforced by the Lisbon Treaty through the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
“Equality in the workplace is one area where Europe has been ahead of the game – and Irish women have reaped the benefit. Although far from closed, the gender pay gap has narrowed significantly in recent years. In this and many other areas, the EU has served the Irish equality agenda well.
“For example, Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights states that “Equality between women and men must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay” and goes on to state that “the principle of equality shall not prevent the maintenance or adoption of measures providing for specific advantages in favour of the under-represented sex. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will thus copper-fasten equality for women in terms of pay and conditions without undermining possibilities for positive action.
“Saying YES to Europe is recognising that some of the most critical challenges facing us are challenges which can only be addressed at a global level. Global warming, global migration and globalisation are just three of these challenges; each of which requires international cooperation to find workable solutions. Now is not the time for isolationism.
“Saying YES to Lisbon is recognising that structures designed for the six founding members are out-of-date in a Union of 27. Ratifying the Lisbon Treaty will allow for several changes to EU decision-making, such as more Quality Majority Voting, which will ensure that more timely and effective decisions can be made to address these challenges.
“One of these global challenges, and one of the great human tragedies currently afflicting Europe, is people trafficking. Many thousands of women and children are trafficked into and around Europe every year against their will. Almost by definition, this needs a response based on cooperation between nations. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty will not only explicitly prohibit trafficking – in the Charter – but will facilitate greater cooperation between police forces across the Union, allowing them step up the fight against people traffickers.
“Membership of the EU has been a resounding success for the Irish economy. It has allowed us to grow from being one of the poorest members upon joining in 1973 to now being one of its most well off. We have benefited to the tune of many billions of euro from European structural funds. By giving us access to a market of half a billion people for our exports, the future importance of the EU to our economy should not be underestimated, especially when media reports are focussing on the downturn in the US and the weakening dollar.
“At a time of global economic uncertainty, it’s important that we say YES to Europe. It’s important that we say YES to Lisbon and YES to Ireland being at the forefront of the European economy. Rejecting the Lisbon Treaty could condemn the Union to another decade of navel-gazing when what we really need is concrete action to meet global challenges. To me, such a course of action seems inconceivable at present.
“This Treaty is about making Europe more relevant to its citizens; and giving more rights to its citizens. It’s about equipping the EU with 21st century structures so it can address 21st century challenges. It will make the EU more dynamic and more democratic.
“By far the most significant innovation contained in the Treaty is the Charter of Fundamental Rights. For the first time, this will give the citizens of Europe a legally enforceable bill of rights across the Union. For the first time, it will be made clear that it is European citizens which are at the heart of the Union. For the first time, all European legislation – including much of Ireland’s employment legislation – will be underpinned by a solid bedrock of fundamental rights at European level. The only way to ensure that the Charter becomes legally binding is to vote YES to Lisbon this summer. If you needed one simple reason to vote YES, then this would be it.
“Recent polling data shows that many people, and many women in particular, are still unsure about the Lisbon Treaty. This is understandable to a certain degree. The government have not done us any favours by delaying naming a date for the referendum. This uncertainty doesn’t really allow people to bring the issues at stake in the referendum sharply into focus. It now looks likely that the referendum will take place in early June, giving us less than three months until polling day. It’s important that people make their vote count – this is the most important political decision facing the country this year.
“People may feel that this is an opportune moment to give Bertie Ahern and his government a kicking after being led to believe that all was well before the last election before being sorely disappointed ever since. Tempting as this may be, I think it’s important that we weigh up the Lisbon Treaty on its merits and reserve judgement on the government until next year. On balance the Lisbon Treaty is clearly in the interests of the Irish people and the people of Europe.
“When people ask ‘What has Europe ever done for us?’; I’m often reminded of the Monty Python sketch where they ask ‘What have the Romans ever done for us?’. The answer in both cases is ‘Quite a lot, actually’”.