mr president i stand here today as a proud irish mep
it took the blood sweat and tears of public representatives athletes business groups farmers and trade unionists to secure a historic yes vote
i am also proud that last friday i was in my home area of tipperary watching a landslide victory come through which showed something that i have always believed in that ireland is a huge supporter of europe and we fully intend to play our role in the future
now i know that the leprechauns in ukip who attended the house last year following the previous referendum have disappeared
many of you will be glad to know that i firmly believe that the irish people have banished them forever from here
the lisbon treaty verdict was a victory for truth over the damned lies and myths perpetrated in some cases by extremists on the no <unk> who tried to take advantage of people's genuine concerns
those extremists met their match last friday
however it is a lesson we have to learn
all of us who support progressive politics and a progressive europe need collectively to provide citizens with a greater incentive to engage with our european institutions
we can never take them for granted
