The Taoiseach has called on the public to participate in the national debate on the future of the European Union and acknowledged "a deep sense of disconnect" between the people of Europe and its institutions.
Speaking at a lunch for the Association of European Journalists in Dublin today, Mr Ahern said there would be a Dail debate on Europe, including the European Constitution, on November 23rd.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern
"Now is the chance to have a good, serious, factual national debate about the EU, what it has done for us, what we have contributed to the Union and where the Union is going in the future," Mr Ahern said.
"It is important that people participate actively in this national debate."
Mr Ahern noted it was a "difficult and testing" time for the EU but said he remained "very optimistic" about its future. He said the institutions of the EU are "strong and democratic", but added that he did not want to downplay the challenges faced.
He noted that fears about globalisation and its implications, including the rights of workers, were becoming more evident in our domestic debate on Europe, where there are now 19 million people unemployed.
"People fear a loss of jobs to low-cost countries. They fear a race to the bottom in social standards. They are struggling to come to terms with the social and economic impact of immigration. They are suspicious of economic reform when reform seems to bring only pain and very little evidence of any gain," he said.
The Taoiseach said that those who had opposed every stage of European integration claimed that "an out of touch European elite" had "foisted" the progressive development of the union on the people.
"I do not accept this claim. Those who claim that our EU membership has weakened Ireland are wrong," he said.
Mr Ahern said Ireland had received gross transfers of some €53.5 billion from the EU budget. Even when our contributions were taken into account, our net receipts have been over €35 billion, he added.
Ireland had also benefited through foreign direct investment and enlightened EU legislation on the rights of workers. "Ireland's identity, national self-confidence and sense of its place in the world has been strengthened to a very large degree," Mr Ahern said.
But the Taoiseach said the recent referendums on the European Constitution in France and The Netherlands had shown there is "a deep sense of disconnect between the people of Europe and the European Institutions.
"It is clear that only concerted action on issues such as unemployment and crime will restore confidence in the European project," he said.
The Taoiseach acknowledged yesterday that the European constitution will not be put to a referendum here before the next Dáil election.