Opposition urges Ahern to clarify policy after de Valera speech in US

The opposition parties last night demanded clarification of the Government's policy on Europe in light of the comments by the…

The opposition parties last night demanded clarification of the Government's policy on Europe in light of the comments by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, the Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera.

The Fine Gael deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, said it was "a shocking dereliction of his duty" for the Taoiseach to have failed to disown the anti-European remarks of the Minister.

She said while the Minister's remarks were both "unacceptable and inexplicable" it was the failure of the Taoiseach to immediately distance the Government from Ms de Valera's remarks that was most disturbing.

"Mr Ahern must now state whether the current Government have indeed fundamentally changed their position on the enlargement and consolidation of the European Union to an anti-EU stance. Any further delay by Mr Ahern must lead to the conclusion that a huge policy shift has indeed taken place," she said.

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In her speech at Boston College, Massachusetts, Ms de Valera said that "as we embraced Europe, we seemed at times to forget our close and very important ties with the United States of America".

She said history had forged deep bonds between Ireland and the US, and in recent times American investment had been important in our economic progress.

The leader of the Labour Party, Mr Ruairi Quinn, also called on Mr Ahern to clarify the European policy of the Government. He said Ms de Valera's remarks were a direct challenge to the Government's stated position and authority on the enlargement of the European Union.

"This is the second Government Minister to query the Government's policy on Europe. Earlier this summer the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, also questioned the wisdom of the enlargement of the Union, despite her Government's active support for the proposal within Europe," he said.

Mr Quinn said people needed to know where the Government stood on the issue, adding that it was a critical one for Ireland.

"It would be wholly inappropriate for Ireland at this stage to retreat from the ongoing developments of the European Union. This take-the-money-and-run attitude to our own continent is beneath us. Deputy de Valera is parroting the language of the British Tory party," he said.

Fine Gael's Europe spokesman, Mr Brendan Durkan, accused the Taoiseach of leading from the rear, following his failure to repudiate the "extraordinary" anti-European views of one of his Cabinet colleagues.

"Sile de Valera's comments in Boston were clearly designed to fly an emotional kite to gauge the level of potential electoral support among Irish people as the country is faced with an influx of European refugees and a net outflow of contributions to the EU," he said.

The former Fine Gael European affairs minister, Mr Gay Mitchell, said if Ministers really wanted a debate, we should hear publicly of their involvement in discussion at EU level on defence and security issues. He said the Government had participated in defence discussions and acquiesced to developments without adequate discussion at home.

"It shows that they have learned nothing from their mishandling of PfP and that security and defence policy is being made in an unplanned way," he said.

A Fianna Fail MEP, Mr Gerard Collins, supported the call for a debate on Ireland's relationship in Europe.

"This intervention is timely to the extent that an Inter-governmental Conference [IGC] is due to be held later this year. EU leaders will be meeting in Nice in France in December to discuss amendments and policy changes to existing EU treaties. This IGC is taking place so that the enlargement process can succeed in a streamlined and structured manner," he said.

Mr Collins said he supported the enlargement of the European Union in an effort to consolidate new democracies in central and eastern Europe. Moreover, it opened up further trade opportunities for Ireland as an exporting nation, he said.

He said any changes brought about within the EU must command the support of the 370 million citizens of the EU.

The European Movement of Ireland rejected the Minister's criticism of a lack of debate on EU enlargement and the agenda of the Union. In a statement it said the European Movement initiated, and is currently holding, a series of consultations on EU enlargement and institutional reform at eight locations in Ireland. All TDs, senators and MEPs have been invited to attend.