The Freedom and Democracy Group – Ireland's bodyguard or bully?

By Kate Manning

This week every household across the country will receive a leaflet urging voters to vote No in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum. Sent by the Freedom and Democracy Group which boasts Nigel Farage as their leader, the leaflet worryingly contains many blatant untruths.

The leaflet states, “Lisbon would further encourage the displacement of Irish workers and lower the wages for tens of thousands of Irish workers, many of whom would have to leave the country.”

In fact the Lisbon Treaty states that the EU does not have control over pay and the issue of accepting immigrants lies solely with the individual country. Why then would this feature in a leaflet intended to inform the Irish public? It would seem that the Freedom and Democracy Group are putting their own political interests above those of the Irish electorate.

The leaflet also features a statement about Corporate Tax:
“Ireland’s no vote to Lisbon halted EU moves to introduce a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). The introduction of an EU Corporate Tax Base will take a jackhammer to Ireland’s economic future”
This claim relates to Article 113 of the Lisbon Treaty. The leaflet fails to mention that actually this Article does not relate to direct taxation such as Corporate Tax but rather indirect taxation. The Irish Government takes full control over corporate tax, contrary to these misleading claims by the Freedom and Democracy Group.

“Lisbon reduces member states' powers”
This is again false information. The fact is that the Lisbon Treaty will simplify the voting structure in Europe. This is desperately needed to facilitate for the increased number of Member States. Measures are also provided to ensure larger countries do not dominate decision making therefore protecting smaller countries like Ireland.

In relation to the guarantees that were achieved for Ireland, the leaflets maintains that “Brian Cowen had asked for legally binding guarantees. Instead he got worthless clarifications. They’re not worth the paper they’re written on!”
Actually the agreement the Taoiseach sought is legally binding, agreed by the heads of EU countries and is an international agreement. Already lodged with the UN it will become a Protocol if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. The Freedom and Democracy Group failed to point out that this was successfully done before when Denmark wanted to opt out of a part of the Maastricht Treaty.

Unfortunately for Irish voters, the current Lisbon Treaty campaign is rife with untruths and scaremongering to facilitate certain political motives. Whether voting Yes or No on October 2nd, it is becoming increasingly important for Irish voters to strip down this Treaty to the bare facts. When reading information ask yourself, who wrote this? What are their political motives? What positive role have they played in Irish or European society? In the case of the Freedom and Democracy the answer to the last question is very little.

Will it be a No from the East?

By Grace Campbell and Kate Manning

The upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum gives young people a second opportunity to voice their opinion on Ireland's relationship going forward with Europe. The result of the referendum is not a foregone conclusion as recent opinion polls have shown. Young people in the East constituency chose their MEPs back in June and now have to make another trip back to the polling booth. Three young people from the East share their reasons as to why they are voting No on October 2nd:

Peter, who is 21 years of age and in college, is adamant that he is voting no in the referendum. "I don't know why we have to go through all of this again," said Peter. "The Irish people voted, they chose no and that decision should be respected. It's as if the government will keep making us vote until we eventually say yes and I believe that is completely unfair." Although Peter believes the second referendum should not be taking place he will exercise his vote regardless. "I think it's important for me to vote, otherwise the yes campaign will win if everyone who shares my opinion doesn't bother to fill out their ballot paper," he said.

Heather is a 23 year old from Meath who recently finished college and has had no success in securing employment so far. "The government says that by agreeing to the Lisbon Treaty that more jobs will be created but I feel they are only saying this in order to push the treaty through. There is no concrete evidence that saying Yes or No to Lisbon will guarantee jobs to anyone so I don't know why this is being used as part of the campaign," she said. Heather has not fully decided which way to vote but is currently swayed towards voting No. "I'm probably taking my anger out on the government by voting against them but I'm just fed up of the situation I'm in and find it very hard to agree with any decisions they make."

John is 20 years of age and has the same opinion as Heather. He is in the workforce and has discussed the pros and cons of the Lisbon Treaty with fellow work colleagues in Kildare. "There definitely has been a lot more effort this time around with informing the public about what the Lisbon Treaty has to offer but I'm not convinced that Lisbon will benefit Ireland and I think the Yes campaign is completely exaggerating the benefits of passing it," said John. "I know Ireland's relationship with Europe is important but there are other domestic issues that should be resolved first."

The next few weeks will see both campaigns for and against the Treaty come into full swing. Informing yourself about the Lisbon Treaty is key. Whatever your decision is, make sure you use your vote on October 2nd.

Will it be a Yes from the East?

By Kate Manning and Grace Campbell

The young voters of Ireland face a tough decision. No, not what flavour Pot Noodle to get, but one which could essentially determine their future as Europeans. Whether you are for or against this Treaty, get the correct information before you vote. A good place to start is http://www.lisbontreaty2009.ie/ or http://www.europeanmovement.ie/, where you will find clear, concise and waffle-free information. Ignore the posters, ignore the politicians and just vote on the facts.

Three young voters from the East Constituency share why they will vote Yes on October 2nd. Michael is 21 and from Newbridge in Kildare. “A friend of mine is very active in politics and she gave me information on what the Treaty is about. After reading up on it I was amazed at the difference between the facts and the rumours. I thought this Treaty would bring abortion into the country and that I would be conscripted into an EU army. It’s crazy how many lies are being told. If I hadn’t read up on it I probably would be voting No.” Michael gave information to his friends and encouraged them to read before they made a decision. “Now around ten of my mates are voting Yes.”

Marie is 19 and from Carlow. She is preparing to return to UCD for her second year as an Arts student. “My family are all voting Yes for the second time. The stuff that is on the posters makes me want to vote Yes even more... it’s not true so why would I vote the way they want us to?” Marie fears the reception Ireland will get in Europe if the No side succeed will be “devastating especially for people our age... we were born into Europe and benefited from it so far, so we should cooperate.”

James from Athy is 24 and in full time employment. “I voted No the last time around probably because I was afraid of what would happen to Ireland. Some said we would lose our influence in Europe... I didn’t know who to believe...and couldn’t find the facts.” Recently James decided to vote Yes because of the guarantees that were sought by the Irish Government. “Any worries I had were sorted by the guarantees...and I accept this Treaty will make Europe more efficient.” James has since become active on Boards.ie and Politics.ie telling other younger voters why he has changed his mind. “There is still a lot of uncertainty among young people but I have been telling them what sites to go on and what is or isn’t fact.”

Public debate over the next few weeks will feature claims however ridiculous from both sides urging voters to side with them to secure Ireland’s future. While the excitement of this referendum will keep voters enthralled, it is imperative to be aware of the facts. Separate the typical election drivel from what this Treaty really involves and bear in mind that for every decision made there will be a consequence.

To Brussels Batman!!!

By Kate Manning

The people have spoken. The elections are over and MEPs all over Europe are organising their life for their move to Brussels. Former MEPs are possibly still coming to terms with their defeat and wondering what went wrong. Unsuccessful candidates are hoping a general election is on the way soon so they can put themselves forward for that. Journalists are back to looking for stories rather than being bombarded with leads on candidates.

On reflection, this year’s elections were most definitely not short on drama. In Ireland as a whole, the smooth election of Nessa Childers in the East Constituency was not predicted, as a battle between herself and Senator John Paul Phelan was supposed to be on the cards. Instead sitting MEP Liam Aylward faced the uphill challenge. Both Mr Aylward and Senator Phelan hail from Kilkenny with Aylward coming up with the goods in the end. Younger voters, in particular Young Fine Gael members, were devastated that their main man failed to succeed.

Libertas had a humiliating defeat with no candidates securing a seat in Ireland and Declan Ganley announcing his exit from politics. While many will find this decision to be the best decision he has ever made, the fact remains, Irish voters could not find a good enough reason to bring Libertas to the Parliament. Perhaps it was the lack of a clear, concise and across the board manifesto that caused the end result.

In Dublin, there was always going to be a fight to the end as the constituency was to lose a seat. Mary Lou McDonald and Eoin Ryan lost their seat while Socialist Joe Higgins secured the last seat. While Eoin Ryan’s losing of his seat was potentially because of his party and the current economic climate, Mary Lou McDonald lost hers on her dreadful attendance record in the Parliament. The voters would prefer to have Joe Higgins criticising the Parliament from Brussels rather than Ms McDonald who spoke out against the Parliament from back home.

In the rest of Europe as a whole, it was good news for the Parliament as the centre right EPP ED secured 263 seats maintaining its role as the largest grouping. Even with the desertion of the Tories and Czech MEPs, it remains on top.

Libertas only managed to secure one seat in the whole of Europe, the lone rider being Philippe de Villiers, a French MEP. This caused even further embarrassment for leader Declan Ganley.

It was bad news for Britain's Labour Party as they received a serious backlash from the voters, which saw the BNP secure two seats in the Parliament. The BNP are very much anti-EU and are desperate to call a halt to immigration. The election of two BNP MEPs is worrying and Nick Griffin’s (BNP leader) pelting with eggs last week is proof that this latest move in Britain will have huge consequences for the Parliament.

In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' Freedom Party won four seats. The party is anti-Europe, anti-Islamic and anti everything that will raise an eyebrow. You can be guaranteed that they will make noise in the Parliament with the BNP MEPs. Great, just what the Parliament needs to slow it down!

The people have indeed spoken. I only wish the rest of Europe (in particular Britain) had spoken as commendably as Ireland did.

Plenty more where that came from

By Kate Manning

People running all over the place, phones hopping and results coming in every minute. That was KCLR96fm, the local radio station for Carlow and Kilkenny on Saturday. It was election count day and the station newsroom was certainly alive.

The early morning was relatively peaceful. News clips to portray the anticipation among the candidates had to be gotten. European and local election hopeful, Kathleen Funchion spoke of her “nervousness about the day ahead”. Green TD Mary White told of the busy day facing everyone and hoped it would end up favouring her party. The stations Journalists were called to get feedback on the atmosphere that was beginning to build at the count-centres.
With so much newsworthy material coming from the count centres, it was difficult to find and develop the “In other news” stories. Having to condense the election feedback proved a challenge and most bulletins became extended. A fatal stabbing in Carlow had to be followed up on and it was tricky to manage that with the elections.

Election results were arriving by the minute and the news stories kept evolving. A bulletin could be broadcast and by the time it was finished another candidate could have been elected. Local listeners began calling the newsroom looking for tit-bits of results that they had missed.
By 11.30 am, word had reached the station that the tallies showed that Mairead McGuinness looked on course to reclaim her seat in the European Parliament. Surprisingly, Nessa Childers also looked to have polled well and was ahead of Fianna Fáil’s sitting MEP Liam Aylward. Predictions emerged which indicated that John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael) would battle with Aylward over the third seat. Nothing was certain at this time and a lot could change.

The day pretty much flew. The buzz of what was going on around the local area and the country never eased. Looking back the unpredictability and the fast pace was definitely worth doing again. I would recommend for anyone to get involved in elections. I followed it and was involved in it from start to finish and there was nothing about it that I didn’t like. Even to just get involved on election count day and witness the results being read out with the candidates either celebrating or commiserating with each other is a great experience. While I chose to get involved on the media side of things, there are other ways to get involved. You could join in the campaign trail of a candidate you’ve taken a shine to. Or put yourself forward to run in the elections. It’s achievable. Either way, to get a feel for the diverse personalities that represent our country at European level and our home towns at local level is important and can be quite entertaining.

With the second Lisbon Treaty referendum fast approaching, not to mention the constant threat of a general election potentially becoming a reality, Irish politics will be fast-paced and exciting for the indefinite future.

Bring it on I say!

Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be....an MEP

By Kate Manning

From the recent TNS/MRBI poll the East Constituency looks to be easily predictable. Mairead McGuinness (Fine Gael) is a certainty and has been from day one of the campaign trail. She will embark on her second term in the European Parliament and deservedly so.

Having spent time with Mairead in Brussels this March, it’s clear she is dedicated to Europe and works extremely hard. It became apparent quite early on in my trip to Brussels that her peers, not just from Ireland, hold her in high regard. She will most definitely spend the next five years in the European Parliament. However, I don’t believe she will secure her seat by as great a margin as the previous polls have suggested as a vote management strategy by Fine Gael in the south of the constituency will see many people transferring their votes to John Paul Phelan

Liam Aylward (Fianna Fáil) is another certainty. Having performed well in the opinion polls, he has a lot of support in the constituency particulary in the Carlow/Kilkenny area. He too has worked hard and deserves his seat. I spent some time with him also in Brussels and I was impressed with how passionately he spoke about Europe and his role in the Parliament. Also with Fianna Fail possibly about to bear the brunt of the nations anger, diehard supporters of the party will make sure Liam gets the vote.

Nessa Childers (Labour) also looks set to take a seat. She launched a successful campaign and I think a lot of people will vote for her because of her father. I met her briefly and was not impressed at her dismissive nature. Maybe it is because I’m young but at the end of the day I still have a vote. Also while on air in KCLR the Carlow/Kilkenny radio station, she made a serious mistake by saying she did not “have a huge knowledge about agriculture”. Unfortunately agriculture is an essential part of the EU. Regardless of this matter, she does look like the favourite to win the third seat, just ahead of John Paul Phelan.

Being a young voter, I would have liked to have seen John Paul Phelan take the last seat. His age plays a big part in this as does his honesty about not knowing everything about Europe but being willing to learn. I thought that would have been a journey all younger voters could embark on with him if he were successful. No doubt he would have raised awareness for the EU here in Ireland. Unfortunately, it looks unlikely that he will succeed. Pity though.


So my prediction: Mairead McGuinness, Liam Aylward and Nessa Childers to take the three seats.