Madam, - I am left wondering whether the TEEU even read the Lisbon treaty before deciding to call for a No vote (Craft union calls for rejection of EU treaty", The Irish Times, May 6th).
General secretary designate Eamon Devoy said that "until EU states were prepared to recognise the right of workers to take industrial action in defence of living standards" the union would not support "reforms that only strengthen big business".
But the treaty itself contains just such a guarantee. Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights, part of the treaty, guarantees "right of collective bargaining and action", specifically "including strike action". This is why virtually all parties of the Left across the EU, including the Labour party in Ireland, support a Yes vote.
- Yours, etc,
MARK SUGRUE, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.
Madam, - I have been surprised to see several trades unions expressing their opposition to the Lisbon Treaty in recent weeks.
The treaty will enforce in European law, for the first time, the right to strike (Article 28 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights). A variety of other basic employment rights are provided for in the Charter, particularly in Chapter IV.
Why trades unions would oppose the introduction of such rights is beyond me and, I dare say, most workers in Ireland, be they union members or not. Perhaps the leaders of Unite and the TEEU would like to explain?
- Yours, etc,
KEITH MARTIN, Island Street, Dublin 8.
Madam, - Glen Dimplex boss Martin Naughton asks "why would 160 out of 166 TDs in the Dáil and the Irish business community support the Lisbon Treaty?" He comes up with the answer that "this is a treaty that benefits Ireland" (Opinion & Analysis, May 6th). I ask the same question and come up with a different answer: because most of our parliamentarians are in bed with big business.
This is a state of affairs that is fatally detrimental to our democracy, and is yet another reason for voting No to the Lisbon Treaty.
- Yours, etc,
RAYMOND DEANE, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.
Madam, - As Cardinal Brady indicated lately, there are many Catholics who genuinely desire a united Europe but not a Europe that fails to recognise its Christian roots or its Christian ethos. During Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's visit to the United States he said in his speech at Harvard University that it would be wrong to vote No to Lisbon because this could cause us to lose our "open doors" to the leaders of the great nations such as France and Germany.
May I ask a pertinent question? What about losing our "open door" to God if we renege on our Christian roots and our Christian ethos? Those who do not believe this could occur should carefully read the book of Amos in the Old Testament as well as Matthew 10:32-33. Our open door to God occurs daily but specifically at the hour of death, which many people just do not want to even think about.
The Lisbon Treaty, if passed, would make the Charter of Fundamental Rights legally binding on the institutions and the bodies of the European Union. This is a charter that contains no reference to God, that holds no recognition of the unborn baby and is found to be vague with regard to the institution of marriage, all points that are firmly recognised by our present Irish Constitution.
I suggest a definite No vote to the Lisbon Treaty, although I am among those who yearn for a united Europe. As Pope Benedict said in the US, hear what Christianity has to offer and don't fear it. Believe me when I say that the truth does set you free.
- Yours, etc,
NOLLAIG M. NÍ MHAOILEOIN, Maynooth, Co Kildare.
Madam, - There has been much disinformation about the Treaty of Lisbon spread by No campaignersin the hope that by stirring domestic concerns they can undermine the European project.
In particular the Libertas group has seized upon the reduction in the number of commissioners. While it is true that the treaty will reduce the number of commissioners to 18, and we will forgo a commissioner for five years in a 15-year cycle, Libertas neglects to mention that this applies to every member-state, irrespective of size. This means that Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy will also forgo a commissioner in the same manner as Ireland, the Netherlands, or Sweden.
Libertas also seems to forget that all EU Commissioners, irrespective of their country of origin, serve the interests of the Union first and foremost, as they are obliged to do when they take their oath of office. They solemnly undertake "to be completely independent in the performance of their duties, in the general interest of the Communities; in the performance of these duties, and neither to seek nor to take instructions from any government".
Finally I note that Libertas has branded itself with the Latin word denoting freedom or liberty. Perhaps a more apt title for the group would be "Purgamentum", meaning rubbish.
- Yours, etc,
NIALL NELIGAN, Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
Madam, - I am certainly an integrated European. I speak two of its languages fluently and I have worked and lived on mainland Europe in both the shipbroking and roadbuilding businesses. Normally I would vote Yes to in the forthcoming referendum. But not now, because I believe it may be the only action left to so many of us to teach this Government a salutory lesson, however embarrassing that may turn out to be.
Firstly, such a Treaty has already been negotiated on our behalf by our elected representatives and it is a complicated issue that should not now be laid upon the shoulders of the electorate, but rather should be dealt with by our legislature who are presumably qualified to do so.
Secondly, I want to instigate my own protest against the poor treatment of our farmers, our fishermen, our small businesses, our pathetically designed, belated and half-hatched road structure and, above all, against the disgraceful Mugabe-type attitude of both the State and HSE towards those who seek to avail of our pathetic health system. Cutbacks may well be the order of the day in the HSE, which is riddled with waste and benchmarked securities for management, but surely not cutbacks at the very front line and among the already hard-pressed medical staff of all disciplines. Does the Department of Health not realise what it is essentially there for? What on earth has the Government done for us in all these years of plenty?
I am involved in a model centre of psychiatric care in Connemara and the HSE now wants to dispense "as soon as possible" with our psychotherapist, a key person at the very front line of successful treatment, just to make its mangled figures balance.
The late John Healy wrote a brilliant series entitled "No-one shouted Stop" about the wanton desecration of our countryside and way of life by greedy developers and uneducated planners. We urgently need to hear that cry again in our society. This Government needs to take a long hard look at itself and perhaps discover the real needs of its people whom it so sorely and arrogantly neglects.
- Yours, etc,
Rev ANTHONY PREVITÉ, Oldchapel, Oughterard, Co Galway.
Madam, - Gerry Adams's recent speech to the National Forum on Europe included the dramatic assertion that "at present the Government can't drop the veto without a referendum. If Lisbon goes through a referendum is not required". This statement is a false representation of the current legal position.
It has never at any time been held that Irish law requires a referendum when there is a shift from unanimity to qualified majority voting. Indeed, in its 1987 decision in the Crotty case, the Supreme Court declined to find that several simultaneous shifts to majority voting required a referendum. If such a right does not exist under Irish constitutional law, the Treaty of Lisbon can hardly be accused of abolishing it.
After Lisbon, the majority of amendments to the treaties will continue to be double-locked by the existing requirement of the unanimous agreement of the member-states plus ratification or approval in accordance with national constitutional requirements. A smaller number - including shifts to majority voting - will be double-locked with a requirement of (a) the unanimous agreement of member-states plus (b) the absence of a veto on such a shift by any single parliament in the EU, including the Oireachtas. Should the Irish Government choose to impose the additional 'lock' of a popular referendum, there is absolutely nothing in the Treaty of Lisbon which will stop it from doing so.
- Yours, etc,
Dr GAVIN BARRETT, Senior Lecturer in EU Law, University College Dublin, Dublin 4.