This article is from page 6 of the 2008-06-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
, It makes it much more dif- ficult for Irish ministers to transact business as successfully as in the
past.
“The wider European view is that we have been by far the biggest ben- efactor and they do not understand why we would make it more difficult for Europe to function more effec- tively and efficiently.”
While disappointed with the over- all ‘No’ vote, the Clare Fianna Fail TD was happy with the Clare posi- OA om USI EO Le
“Tt certainly indicates that the ma- jority of the people of Clare realise that Europe needs to have systems in place that allow it to operate more ef-
fectively.”
Asked if there 1s likely to be a Lis- bon II, as in the case of Nice, the jun- ior minister said he believed that was not likely at the moment.
“If we see a few more countries ratifying, then the threat to Ireland is much greater. If no one else rati- fies it, then maybe we can find more common ground.”
Meanwhile, Fine Gael’s Deputy Spokesperson on Foreign Affairs, Deputy Pat Breen said that the Gov- ernment must accept responsibility for the rejection of the treaty.
“IT welcome the decision by the people of County Clare to support the Lisbon Treaty. I thank the people of Clare who have risen above their local concerns because they recog- nise the important role that Ireland’s membership of the EU has played since we joined the union in 1973,” |aTemsy-H (6b
‘Fine Gael played an active part in the campaign here in County Clare and I take this opportunity to especially thank the Fine Gael vot- ers in County Clare who once again showed their true party patriotism,
putting the future of the country ahead of their own frustrations with this Government’s failure to deliver.
“While Clare has said “Yes’ to Lis- bon, the decision by the people of Ireland overall to reject the treaty is disappointing. The credibility of the political system is being destroyed by fairytales of the previous Taoiseach at the Mahon Tribunal and they are further undermined by the unques- tioned support that was given by the current Taoiseach and his band of ministers for these fairytales,” said the Fine Gael TD.