This article is from page 19 of the 2008-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 19 JPG
THOUSANDS of Clare farmers have been urged to vote yes on the upcoming Lisbon treaty with IFA President, Padraig Walsh, throwing his lot behind the Government on the TEstS1 OC oe
With as many as 10,000 IFA mem- bers in Clare, the organisations back-
ing for the so-called reform treaty could be one of the main determin- ing factors on how Clare votes.
“IT think that Europe needs to change – European institutions need to change and streamline themselves, become more efficient and respond more rapidly to the realities of the world today,’ he said.
“I think that is one of the things that
will come from the treaty. Obviously there are a lot of people reading into the treaty things that are not there. I would urge people to vote on the treaty for the treaty itself rather than using it as a way of sending a mes- sage to Government.”
According to Walsh, the needs of farmers are best served by a close re- lationship with the rest of Europe.
“Compared to any other country, Ireland participation at the heart of Europe is more important to the economy,” he said.
“The IFA’s interest and the inter- ests of Irish farmers are best served by being at the heart of Europe rather than being on the fringes. At our na- tional AGM last week we had Com- missioner Fisher Boel, who is the Ag-
ricultural Commissioner responsible for farming right across Europe.
‘For two hours she sat and took questions from representatives from Irish farmers from all over the coun- try. It just shows that we can have a major influence on European policy at that level and that our influences are best served by being on the inside rather than on the fringes.”