THERE IS "much confusion" in the public about the Lisbon Treaty and its implications for Ireland, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny told the Forum on Europe yesterday.
He said politicians must fill what he called the "information gap" ahead of the summer referendum. In an address to the forum at Dublin Castle, Mr Kenny said he had detected a lack of clarity about the treaty's provisions during public meetings held by his party in recent weeks.
He said that while reminders of the European project's achievements so far were important, they were not in themselves enough to convince people of the need to keep the process moving forward.
"We must explain . . . what a reformed European Union can achieve for people in the future and why these reforms are needed now so that Europe can work effectively to meet the many challenges it faces." The Fine Gael leader dismissed as "false and spurious" claims by No campaigners that the treaty would lead to the formation of a "European army", or present a threat to Ireland's corporate tax rate or abortion laws.
The fact Ireland is the only member state to hold referendum is a "wonderful privilege and an enormous responsibility", he said, adding that the debate on the treaty should be balanced.
Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said Mr Kenny's insistence that Ireland's corporate tax rate would not be affected by the treaty's provisions was "misleading" for voters.
Echoing this view, former Green MEP Patricia McKenna described Article 113 of the treaty as a "clear invitation to the European court" to outlaw Ireland's corporate tax rate.
The Lisbon Treaty has been ratified by Denmark, Austria and Portugal this week, bringing to 11 the number of member states to have approved the text. The others are: Hungary, Slovenia, Malta, Romania, France, Bulgaria, Poland and the Slovak Republic.