Former leader launches treaty debate

Ireland had a disproportionate influence on the European constitution given its size and population, former Taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald said yesterday.

The constitution, which has yet to be ratified by individual States, is to be signed by heads of state and government on Saturday.

Paying tribute to the Irish team involved in the treaty negotiations, Dr FitzGerald said the former junior minister for Europe, Mr Dick Roche, had represented the Government very ably, and the former minister for social welfare, Mr Proinsias de Rossa, had ensured that social issues were included.

The former Taoiseach said the Irish influence on the treaty was discernible in areas of justice, social affairs and the protection of the little states with regard to larger ones. He praised the work of former Taoiseach Mr John Bruton on issues of justice.

Dr FitzGerald was launching the Institute of European Affairs publication, Europe Re-United: a Constitutional Treaty, which he said was the opening salvo in the the debate on Ireland's ratification of the constitution.

The publication traces the constitutional treaty from its origins in the Laeken declaration in 2001 to its final agreement by the heads of state and government in June 2004, in the last days of the Irish EU presidency.

Dr FitzGerald said he hoped the publication, which was written and edited by a group chaired by himself, would provide a comprehensive guide for EU citizens in advance of the forthcoming ratification process.

He offered a personal view of the treaty, saying it could have reflected more strongly the differences between those EU democracies deeply concerned with human rights - "for the rule of law above violence" - and "other democracies" which, he said, did not feel these values so deeply.

However, he did not elaborate on which "other democracies" he had in mind.

He welcomed reports from among member-states that showed a majority in favour of the constitution, the only exception being Denmark.