FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has said his party will lead the Yes campaign in a second Lisbon referendum to prevent anti-Government sentiment from shooting the treaty down.
He also criticised the performance of EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy, declaring that his “heart was never in Europe”.
“There may be a political problem in separating the Lisbon referendum from the Government’s mismanagement of the economy. . . The people want an election,” said Mr Kenny after meeting European Commission president José Manuel Barroso.
Mr Kenny, who as Fine Gael leader is a vice-president of the European People’s Party, the same political family as Mr Barroso, said he would meet Taoiseach Brian Cowen next Tuesday to discuss the guarantees being sought on the treaty.
“The timing of the last referendum left a lot to be desired when you had one Taoiseach leaving and another one arriving. The Government took their eye off the ball. . . the campaign was not co-ordinated,” said Mr Kenny.
“We need a proper campaign to inform the people. We need to set up a committee to properly scrutinise how the Government transposes EU directives. Red tape in Europe is interfering with people,” he added.
He said problems often lay with how the Government transposed EU legislation rather than with the directives themselves. For example, Ireland had introduced criminal penalties for fishermen while other member states had opted for administrative penalties.
He said the Government should set a date for the referendum early on and move the referendum legislation in July rather than attempt to recall the Dáil in September. It was important to separate the referendum on Lisbon from the difficult budget decisions ahead.
He also offered his full support to Mr Barroso’s candidature for a second term as commission president. Mr Kenny was not as generous when assessing the performance of Mr McCreevy. Mr Kenny said former taoiseach John Bruton would make an excellent candidate for the commission. The decision on the Irish commissioner should not be about party politics but about the country and its relationship with Europe, he said.