Results of Cork East Constituency for the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009

The proposal to amend the Constitution of Ireland in order to enable ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon of the European Union, following the failure of the previous amendment on 12 June 2008. As part of the enactment of the bill, a referendum was held on 2 October 2009.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com     E Mail: news@youghalonline.com

The proposal was approved by 67.1% to 32.9%, with a turnout of 59%. This represents a swing of 20.5% to the Yes side since the first referendum in June 2008.

Results of Cork East Constituency
Electorate 84,411
Spoilt votes 178
Total poll For 31,946
Against 16,387
± Yes side 2008
+33.1%

Mayor of Youghal Sandra McLellan and Deputy Mayor Michelle Hennessy are campaigning for a No Vote in next Friday’s Lisbon Treaty Referendum.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com    E Mail news@youghalonline.com

On October 2nd you are being asked to vote on exactly the same Lisbon Treaty that was rejected by 900,000 voters in June 2008.

Same Treaty – Same Answer – Democracy matters. Your vote matters

The Lisbon Treaty was a bad deal for Ireland and Europe then and it is still a bad deal.

Despite claims of the Fianna Fail government to have addressed the concerns of voters they have not secured a single change to the text of the Treaty.

The Lisbon Treaty will undermine Irelands voice in Europe. We will lose our permanent right to a commissioner from 2014.

The Treaty will undermine workers rights and wage levels and damage family farms.

The Treaty will commit Ireland to a common defence and foreign policy further weakening our neutrality.
There is an alternative. A better deal is still possible. Vote NO to the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd.

BY NOW we all know the gritty details of how much NAMA is going to pay out for these so called ‘toxic’ debts. €54bn is an awful lot of money isn’t it? Yet we are told that it is essential for the survival of our economy. No doubt you have perhaps read much about it elsewhere so I’m not going to delve into it in detail but if anything it has put a massive strain on relations between Fianna Fáil and The Green Party. A lot of people I have been talking to have been quite pleased about this because it is building up their hopes that there might be a general election sooner rather than later.
Photo: Michael Hussey www.youghalonline.com   E Mail  news@youghalonline.com

Most people understand that the upcoming budget will hit everyone in some way or another but at least Minister Lenihan has said that he is ruling out tax hikes. However before you celebrate, no tax hikes does not mean no new taxes and a new tax that will almost certainly be introduced if the Green Party get their way is a carbon tax. Figures have already been thrown out and about such as an 8c per litre hike in the cost of petrol and 5c per litre of diesel. So called ‘dirty fuels’ such as peat and coal will face significant increases. With regards to petrol and diesel, 70% of what we pay per litre already goes on tax.

The common line that I have been hearing is that people are screaming out for a reprieve on more swinging cuts to their pay cheques (if they are lucky enough to still draw one) and getting Fianna Fáil and the Green Party out of government before the budget is seen as a means to an end in that respect.

The growing public hatred of Fianna Fáil and by proxy the Green Party, helped enormously by the irrevocable fiasco of John O’Donoghue’s expenses, has all the main political parties in a spin when it comes to the upcoming second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. The fear is that the people of Ireland will use their vote to punish Fianna Fáil and the Greens by voting no.

If you are curious then you can read this post from January 2008 where I correctly predicted a re-run of the Lisbon Treaty referendum if we were to vote no. In that post (which was a rant about the Green Party) I also predicted the demise of the Green Party for going into coalition with Fianna Fáil to begin with. Having just read over it again I mentioned in it that the Green Party in a member vote needed a 66% majority to decide if the party was going to support the Lisbon Treaty however only 63% of them agreed. It is interesting to see that this time around they appear to be whole heartedly in support. Their assimilation into Fianna Fáil seems to be nearing completion.

When it came to supporting the NAMA legislation, once again the Green Party put it to their members to vote if they should support it or not. Their members decided to support it but only if certain changes to the legislation were put into effect. One of these changes much trumpeted by Minister Eamonn Ryan was that the banks were going to take a share in the risk that the NAMA proposal could possibly bring about. I would have loved to been a fly on the wall when he was told that this risk sharing was only going to be a pathetic 5%. Yet another example of Fianna Fáil throwing the boot into their junior coalition partners letting them know just who is the boss.

What this serves to point out is that the Green Party are in a curious place. They are a coalition member of government in power for their first (and almost certainly last) time. As the governments majority in the Dáil is very small indeed the Green Party should be in a position to dicate terms and conditions to Fianna Fáil. They could (and should) threaten to pull out of the coalition if they don’t get their way. They should have Fianna Fáil over a barrel but they seem completely unable to use the strategic political position. Considering they only have six TDs they should still have the upper hand on their senior coalition partners. But perhaps that is the catch 22. Perhaps the Green Party need Fianna Fáil just as much as Fianna Fáil needs them.

As I said already this leaves them in a curious place. John Gormley has gone on record as saying that the Green Party are not ready to leave government yet as they still have many objectives to achieve. But one has to wonder that with their wholesale annihilation in the recent local and European elections, would it be better for the Green Party to bow out of government now and regroup? Salvage what remaining shred of credibility they have left and focus on the future.

I’m sure that if the Green Party were to issue a statement saying that they were leaving the coalition it would actually boost their credibility significantly. If anything else, collapsing the government would allow the people of Ireland to choose those who they deem most suitable for getting is out of this economic mess that Fianna Fáil are largely responsible for.

Finally, regarding the Lisbon Treaty I would like to take this opportunity to urge people not to use the referendum to punish the government no matter how much they deserve it. Make an informed decision and vote with this information in mind. The referendum is about Ireland’s future not about the future of the Green Party and Fianna Fáil.

Disclaimer – This post reflects my own opinion and in no way reflects the opinions of any third party nor those of Fine Gael of which I am a member.

Photos By: Derek Kiely and Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Cork County Cllr. Martin Hallinan,Youghal Town Cllrs. Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy with Thelma Reilly, Sheila Whyte, Linda Regan, Tony Hennessy, Mark Morrison, Eileen Griffin, Christy Reilly and Gerald Hennessy celebrate the No vote

The Lisbon Treaty has been rejected by Irish voters sparking a crisis for plans to reform European Union structures. A total of 53.4 per cent voted to reject the treaty, while 46.6 per cent voted in favour of it. All but 10 constituencies rejected the treaty, with a total of 752,451 voting in favour of Lisbon and 862,415 votes against. Turnout was 53.1 per cent.

Cork County Cllr. Martin Hallinan casts his vote at The Church Of The Holy Family Hall Youghal

Youghal Town Sinn Féin Cllrs. Sandra McLellan and Michelle Hennessy who campaigned for a No vote have welcomed the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by Irish voters. Cllr. McLellan said Read more