madam president could i suggest that those in this house from member states other than ireland who wish to speak for the irish people on the lisbon treaty put their names down on the ballot paper in ireland for the european elections it is a matter for the irish people to decide whether we ratify the lisbon treaty or not
i hope we do and i will work very hard to achieve that
i want ireland to remain at the heart of decision-making in europe
all those who are calling for a second irish no are hoping that ireland can be used as a sledgehammer to begin the destruction of the european union
i will not stand for that
our history predisposes us to be cautious
it has also taught us that solidarity and power-sharing with other european states is the best guarantee of our sovereignty and the best guarantee of our prosperity
minister vondra in his opening statement made no reference to the social crisis we are facing at the moment
i would urge him to revise his line
we are in fact facing an economic financial and social crisis twenty-seven million people and their families are facing total hell over the coming years
we cannot have a european union that ignores that
