Crisis of Social Partnership: Collapse of National Pay Talks in Ireland
by Padraig Yeates

The 21 year old social partnership pact between unions, employers and the Government in Ireland is entering one of its periodic crises as one national pay agreement Towards 2016 begins to run out and talks on a successor have collapsed. The Government is expected to attempt resuscitation in late August or early September, writes Padraig Yeates.

Calls are being made for the social partners to invoke the spirit of 1987, but a lot has changed since then. In 1987 things were so bad that the Government was about to run out of funds to make social welfare payments, unions had only to look at Thatcher's Britain to see what lay in store if a new rightwing political consensus prevailed and business leaders were desperately seeking stability. The then Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charlie Haughey persuaded mandarins, unions and employers alike that centralised pay bargaining was the only game in town.

The gamble paid off. Today the Irish gross national debt ratio is half the EU average, unemployment and inflation are a quarter of the real levels in the 1980s, interest rates are a third of what they were then and taxes have been slashed. The problem is that personal debt levels for many workers, especially young home makers with mortgages, are multiples of what they were in the 1980s. Interest rates are rising, while the price of basic items such as food and heating soar. Cuts in direct taxation, in return for pay restraint, are no longer an option as they are already very low. Instead, indirect taxation for a variety of increasingly privatised services has been rising for some time.

The natures of the key social partners, unions and employers, have also changed since 1987. There are more workers organised in trade unions than ever before, but union density in the private sector has fallen. This is partly because unions have been slow to supplement their traditional service model, based on meeting the needs of members in a fairly stable labour market, with the campaigning and organising activities required in a more dynamic and increasingly volatile economy.

But the main reason has been a deliberate policy by many employers, large and small, foreign and indigenous, to discourage employees from joining unions. Professor John Geary of UCD, in the only independent national survey to date, found that over 70 per cent of workers would join a union if their boss approved.

While a pay freeze is a deal breaker for unions in the current economic climate, employers appear equally resistant to concede collective bargaining as a right to employees, although it exists in almost every other EU member state. The balance among employers appears to be shifting increasingly in favour of this hard line position.

Unfortunately the 'national interest' counts for little when increasingly mobile and unregulated global finance capital turns investment into a lottery. Profit is taken on a short term basis and many investors cut and run when the bet turns sour. Unions, like social consensus, are seen as a handicap. Long term sustainability, with the concomitant investment needed in people, plant and R&D, is no longer on the agenda of some employers.

Recent attempts to facilitate collective bargaining through social partnership were scuttled by Ryanair, now one of Europe's largest airlines. It successfully defended its right not to concede de facto recognition to IMPACT pilots in the Irish Supreme Court last year. Some employers are now challenging voluntarist forms of collective bargaining which served the social partners well for decades. Early this year hoteliers threatened a legal challenge to Employment Rights Orders and in June a group of electrical contractors obtained an injunction against the implementation of the Registered Employment Agreement for the industry.

Hundreds of thousands of workers in sectors governed by EROs and REAs could be affected if the courts rule in favour of these employers. The Government could resolve the problem if it had the will. It is a signatory to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and International Labour Organisation conventions 87 and 98, which guarantee the right of workers to organise and seek representation with employers.

Far from showing any desire to do so, the new Taoiseach Brian Cowen refused to give a commitment to implement Article 28 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, which would have achieved the same objective, during the recent Lisbon referendum. This prevented SIPTU, the country's largest union, from recommending a 'Yes' vote and confirmed two large private sector unions, the TEEU and Unite, in their opposition to the Treaty.

Cowen's concessions to the farming lobby in the week before the referendum to protect it from trade liberalisation proposals in WTO negotiations underlined the message that workplace rights were low on the Government's agenda.

Despite the economic downturn and hardening attitudes of some employers, partnership still has great strengths as a problem solving and conflict resolution mechanism. It has worked for a small open economy because employers secured changes needed to maintain competitiveness and unions delivered pay increases and social wage dividends for workers. As with any partnership entering hard times, this one needs reinforcing. Instead one of the partners is progressively closing the door on the other. Collective bargaining is certainly about power sharing, but it is even more critically about respect.

The current breakdown is nothing new. In fact it is uncannily similar to a crisis seven years ago. On December 17th, 2002, talks on a new agreement to succeed the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness broke down over a revised 'inability to pay' clause from the employers. They wanted companies to be able to refuse any pay rises that might affect their competitiveness.

On August 2nd, 2008, the last straw in the talks was a proposal to amend the 'inability to pay' clause so that even companies doing well could avail of it if they faced the prospect of more difficult trading conditions in the future. The effect of both clauses would be the same, to allow employers to renege on nationally agreed pay increases, or bargain down unions in local negotiations.

When talks collapsed in December of 2002 there seemed little chance of their revival and they did so from the most unlikely sequence of events. In early January the Irish Independent ran a front page story that IBEC was advising members to hold the line with a six months pay pause. The then chairman of the private sector committee of ICTU, SIPTU's Jack O'Connor, responded by calling for a one day national strike, followed by a two day national strike, at which point the Government intervened and brokered a new agreement that became known as Sustaining Progress.

This too had its troubles, most notably when the Government failed to strengthen employment legislation ahead of opening Irish borders to the new EU accession state. With high profile disputes exposing the systematic exploitation of migrant workers serving as a backdrop, SIPTU refused to enter talks on a new agreement until employment standards were addressed. It subsequently took six months to negotiate Towards 2016, which had a pay deal lasting just 27 months.

The agreement did lead to better employment standards, including the establishment of the National Employment Rights Agency, but it was now taking longer to negotiate shorter agreements. This reflects the growing disparity in objectives being sought from agreements by employers and unions. The former group wants ever increasing flexibility, while the latter group wants to protect employment standards and employability of members with more in upskilling workers.

That basic dichotomy was reflected in the slow start to the current talks. SIPTU insisted that the Government honour commitments to improve labour standards in Towards 2016 before negotiations began on a new agreement. The talks were then sidelined by the Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign. The Treaty's rejection and the growing economic crisis meant the key phase of the talks took place in an atmosphere of collective gloom. It was clear throughout July that the gap between the two sides was too great to be easily bridged and the Government had no strategy for doing so. The employers wanted a pay freeze of between six months and a year for different groups of workers followed by pay rises with an annualized value of 2.8 per cent. Unions wanted a deal that would at least compensate members for inflation, expected to continue at around four to five per cent until the end of 2009. The Government was not even buying into the sort of modest tax reforms and anti-inflationary measures being proposed by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, nor was it addressing the festering sore of collective bargaining.

Private sector unions have already begun serving pay claims, usually in the region of five per cent, to compensate for inflation. The first strike by Mandate, the shop workers union at Byrnes, a small chain of bookstores, is due shortly. One glimmer of hope is that SIPTU has concluded an interim deal for members in the motor trade just before talks on a national pay deal collapsed. This was for three per cent over eight months and is up for renewal in December.

The book store dispute is largely symbolic, but as claims for bigger groups of unions begin to hit the wire the prospect of an irretrievable breakdown in social partnership grows. At present the Government is anxious to portray that breakdown as nothing more than a trial separation, but without an improved pay offer from employers and some imaginative thinking from the Government on how to counter the effects of inflationary pressures it is hard to see partnership being salvaged from the wreckage this time.

Note: This is just a re-post of an article of interest. Padraig Yeats is not connected to the Connolly Youth Movement.

"It is far, far too early to be talking about a referendum or about some specific policy to go forward", said Dick Roche, European Affairs Minister.

On Monday, Nicolas Sarkozy, French president, will visit Dublin, looking for a way ahead, after the EU treaty has been rejected by Irish noters on 12 June.

The EU’s six-month rotating presidency is currently held by France, which is keen to resolve the Lisbon Treaty stumbling block before the end of its presidency.

"The Irish will have to vote again", Mr Sarkozy was quoted as saying on Tuesday, while speaking to deputies from his conservative UMP party in Paris.

Ireland was the only one of 27 EU member states to hold a referendum on the treaty, aimed at streamlining EU institutions in order to improve decision-making in the enlarged bloc. To take effect, the treaty has to be ratified by all 27 states.

To critics, the Lisbon Treaty is a further evidence of a federalist, pro-integration agenda, at work in the EU.

‘Irish perspective’

During his visit to Dublin, president Sarkozy would be "in listening mode", said Mr Martin.

"We're not entertaining any prospect or any bullying from anybody", he said. "We'll be looking at it from an Irish perspective and what's in the best interests of Ireland."

"We don't want to have a row with Mr Sarkozy", a senior Irish government source told the BBC, adding that the government "does not know exactly what Mr Sarkozy said [to UMP deputies]".

But some Irish politicians were sharply critical of President Sarkozy. Eamon Gilmore, opposition Labour Party leader, said that the French leader had "seriously put his foot in it".

And Sinn Fein's Aengus O Snodaigh called Mr Sarkozy's comments "deeply insulting" to the Irish people.

Last month, EU leaders agreed that after analysing the reasons for the No vote, the Irish government would present its ideas on the treaty at the next EU summit, in October.

Brian Cowen 'photo, from topnews.in), Irish prime minister, said in New York on Tuesday that the "implications and consequences" of the Irish No vote would have to be discussed in detail.

‘At the start of the process’

"It is not simply a matter internally, there is also the wider issue of discussing with colleagues within the European Union how they see things as well... we are at the start of a process here, rather than at the end", Mr Cowen said.

While speaking on France 2 television, president Sarkozy’s close aide Henri Guaino, said that it was "one of the solutions" to ask the Irish to vote again, though he added that in that case, the text of the treaty would "probably ... not be quite the same".

He stressed that Mr Sarkozy's remark about a fresh Irish vote was "not an official statement".

As Ireland is a country extremely sensitive to anything that can be construed as bullying from its bigger European neighbours, French president’s difficulty is to find a way to sell the idea of a second referendum in Ireland, reports Hugh Schofield in Paris.

Currently, the EU is operating under the Nice Treaty, which was first rejected by Irish voters in 2001, before being accepted just over a year later, in a referendum re-run.

But after the EU constitution debacle in 2005, it is harder to re-run the Lisbon Treaty. In 2005, the constitution has been rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, and the EU decided against putting the constitution to another vote.

Seriously, what is there to do there? It’s ok going to places, and seeing local attractions, but that can be done in 2 days. The rest of the week just drags right on.

The lot of us ended up playing games to relieve our boredom. Like “Drink the Whiskey”. You get another one for winning. By lunchtime, we were pretty rat-arsed.

That’s when the cameraman explained that I had to go and interview a local group of locals. I ended up slurring my way through a talk on the town’s local history.

Even worse was that ginger gobshite dancing around behind the camera trying to get me to laugh. I burst out laughing just as I was told some emotional sob story. Not good. The whole day’s work had to be scrapped. Which set us back a bit.

I got my revenge on Hector though. We got him really drunk and dyed his hair black. That’ll teach him to mess with me. Then, for extra fun, I gagged his mouth and put a balaclava on him, before gluing toy guns to his hands. We then dumped him outside the local garda station.

He’s not going to be doing much travelling for a while…

So, on we went to the next destination to meet up with the newest celebrity guest.

We’re off to County Clare with the one and only Eddie “The Eagle” Hobbs. He’s going to show us how to go surfing at the seaside, while at the same time also teaching us about saving our money.

I think that’s it. He said something about floating interest rates anyway. I can’t wait!

Coming up to the last election, friends of mine supported Fianna Fáil and defended them against critics by saying how much they did for the economy. The cynic in me is more of the opinion that they got given the economy on an upward curve and rode the wave to its highest point. The issue with that is that when you ride the wave, it peaks, breaks and eventually crashes. I'll leave that metaphor now, but I will be using more. Irish politics is simply too ridiculous to resist. Fianna Fáill took a steady economy and took all the credit for it. In recent times, as scandals reminescent of the Haughey era started to rear their ugly heads, we've found ourselves up to our ears in tribunals again, and the latest blow to the Fianna Fáil juggernaut has been the demise and resignation of Bertie Ahern amidst allegations of gross financial indescretion during his time as leader of the country.

The basic problem with Fianna Fáil has been their whole attitude to the economic boom. The idea of a 'Celtic Tiger' that symbolised the upsurge in the Irish economy gave the government the financial version of Dutch courage. they had a strangely intoxicating, unfamiliary and powerful feeling that made them feel all clever and sexy. With that, they used all their new found surplus to feather their nests and show off how much money Ireland had. The surge in the economy would have been better off treated as a 'Celtic Camel' than a 'Celtic Tiger.' The exotic implication is still there. The animal would be equally uncomfortable and pissy in a temperate oceanic climate. And people would pay us as much attention. But the camel has more of an heir of modesty really. The idea of storing up valuable wealth and assets in the hump of the Celtic Camel would have saw us through a lot further than the showy predatory bravado of the Celtic Tiger. The name of the game should have been saving for a rainy day, but Bertie and Biffo did not do that. They put not so much as a penny away in case of a downturn, and instead boasted about how well they had done with the financial situation, while at the same time washing their double glazing and lighting their imported cigars with €50 notes.

Now, I actually find myself in unfamiliar territory. I feel sorry for Brian Cowen. As much as I believe I was right about Fianna Fáil and as much as I think the country has been feckless with our positive economic situation, I still feel sorry for Biffo sitting in the Dáil listening to all that the opposition leaders have to say. Since taking the reigns from Bertie, Biffo has had a knock in the defeat of the Lisbon Treaty and in the news of the approaching recession in the economy. As Kevin Myers wrote this week, 'off season' for journalists, usually between July and September, won't be happening this year. Enda Kenny had his go when he laid into Cowen for proving that he clearly could not manage the finances of this country over the last few years. Éamon gilmore took his turn by pointing out how the 'slow-down' in house construction under Cowen as Finance Minister has now come to a shuddering halt according to Brian Lenihan, Tánaiste and new Minister for Finance. Watching Biffo's face as it was pulically pointed out that he has lead the country into a recession was oddly unpleasant to watch and the hint of glee in the voice of the opposition speakers was certainly noticeable. When it seems he has been left to take the heat by his successor, who according to Gilmore, rues the day he had to take over from Cowen as Minister for Finance. While I dislike oh so much about Fianna Fáil and am glad in a way to see them face the music, I have always thought at least they stuck together. I wonder now if the cracks will start to show.

As someone who is not a fan of Fianna Fáil, that's my outlook, but as a citizen of Ireland and a young person I am obviously sorry to see such an economic downturn approaching. Emigration is predicted to rise by about 20,000 people in the next year and unemployment and inflation are expected to soar. I will be one of many Irish people leaving for greener pastures in the near future. For the second time since the Lisbon Treaty was defeated, I want to say thank God I am emigrating. The thought that I would prefer to live in a city of which Boris Johnson is mayor than stay around here is one that I never thought would seriously go through my head.

From today's Order of Business:

In order to have any relevance at all, this House needs to debate the ESRI's recently published quarterly economic commentary. We are talking about the first recession in this country for 25 years. We are not talking about speculation but about a clear forecast of an increase in unemployment and emigration. Two significant aspects of the current situation emerge from the ESRI report. First, the current recession is almost entirely home-grown. That is the factual position as outlined by the authors of the ESRI report. The alibi, explanation or excuse that is sometimes given in this House - that it concerns external, overseas factors - is not true. Therefore we must leave that aside because it has been proven to be incorrect.

We are talking about factual material which we need to understand before we can have the debate. The factual material, which is not speculative, points without question to the reality that this is a home-grown recession caused by developments over which this country, and the Government in particular, have substantial power to change. Members on the Government side may not like it but we need to face the facts first and then have the debate.

Second, the ESRI report's commentary makes demonstrably clear that we blew the boom.

We had an opportunity to do otherwise. We had years of self-satisfied, smug commentary from the Government, including the then Taoiseach, about cranes in the sky, saying that everything was going to be great. We missed the opportunity, however. I want a debate on this report.

We blew it in this sense that we passed up the opportunity we had in this country to set down the basis for dealing with a downturn when it came. We did not do that. We simply decided not to do it. We did not fix the roof of the house when the weather was good and now we must face the bad times. Clearly we need an opportunity to debate it in this House.

If I can reflect back on what is sometimes regarded as the Taoiseach's Angola moment when he was upset about having to deal with the Department of Health and Children, it would appear now that the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, is having an Angola moment about having to deal with the challenges in the Department of Finance. They need to get together quite lively to put together a clear proposal on how we will proceed in the matter. They first need to face up to the fact that it would be unthinkable for them to go ahead and take pay increases in the face of a situation where they demand that people face pay cuts. Clearly, we need a debate on the matter.

More :: ESRI warns of recession, job losses and renewed emigration (Irish Times)

For us, anyway, it should be over now. We voted No, for whatever reasons, and, despite what the No campaign may say, it is not beyond the realms of possibility to suggest that a lot of people voted No because of bad feeling towards the Government. Because "they didn't explain it properly"... I could go on. But then... sigh. This has all been said, it has all been done.

Today's Irish Times had a myriad letters relating to the Lisbon Treaty. Somehow (Brian Cowen, sir, please pay attention) the views of the people are a thousand times more interesting than the views of the politicians. One avid newspaper reader suggested that the Lisbon Treaty needs to be redrafted to include the Church. Inclusive? Methinks not. Another referred to Sinn Féin's newfound love of peace and neutrality; another letter berated the Yes camp for suggesting that the No camp voted No out of spite, out of ignorance... one can see how the No camp could be offended. [Red herring: who doesn't love an ellipsis?!]

Theorists aside, no one can say how things will go now. We won't leave the EU; could we? Should we? It's beyond the point. Brian Cowen probably won't stand up and say that the Irish public was wrong, regardless of his personal feelings about the issue. There probably won't be a call for the Treaty to be redrafted; will the Treaty be ratified without us? Only time will tell.

But the problem is, by the time it rolls around, will we even care?

W ponurych nastrojach już od czwartkowego wieczoru byli wszyscy zwolennicy traktatu lizbońskiego w Irlandii. Kiedy się okazało, że frekwencja w referendum mającym zadecydować o ratyfikacji tego dokumentu nie przekroczyła 50 proc., bardzo prawdopodobne stało się to, iż Irlandczycy powiedzieli stanowcze "nie" unijnemu traktatowi. Wczorajszy ranek tylko pogłębił te nastroje, gdyż pierwsze nieoficjalne wyniki potwierdziły te przypuszczenia. Radość wybuchła za to w obozie eurosceptyków, kiedy we wczesnych godzinach popołudniowych podano oficjalne wyniki z większości okręgów. Ponad 53 proc. Irlandczyków nie chce traktatu reformującego z Lizbony!

Mieszkańcy Irlandii odrzucili zdecydowaną większością głosów w czwartkowym referendum traktat reformujący Unię Europejską. Przeciwko jego przyjęciu opowiedziało się 53,4 proc. głosujących (862 415 osób). Za traktatem lizbońskim głosowało 46,6 proc. (752 451 osób). Frekwencja wyborcza wyniosła 53,13 procent. Do głosowania uprawnionych było 3 051 278 Irlandczyków. Głosów nieważnych oddano 6171. W niektórych okręgach stolicy kraju, Dublina, przewaga głosów na "nie" wyniosła nawet 70 procent.
Jeszcze przed upublicznieniem oficjalnych wyników komentatorzy - opierając się jedynie na wstępnych danych - oceniali, że zwolennicy traktatu ponieśli dotkliwą porażkę, gdyż tak wielka przewaga nie powinna ulec roztrwonieniu. Nawet przedstawiciele partii rządzącej, która prowadziła tak intensywną kampanię na rzecz poparcia traktatu z Lizbony, przyznawali, że referendum nie ułożyło się po ich myśli. - Z tego, co słyszę, nie wygląda to dobrze - powiedział irlandzki minister ds. europejskich Dick Roche. - Jednak wciąż trzymam kciuki, może wyjdzie to na dobre - dodał. Jako pierwszy, jeszcze przed ukazaniem się końcowych rezultatów, "smutną" wieść dla narodu przekazał minister sprawiedliwości Dermot Ahern. - Wiele wskazuje na to, że będzie to głosowanie na "nie" - powiedział, z nieukrywanym żalem, minister. Ahern był jedną z czołowych postaci kampanii nawołującej do popierania unijnego dokumentu.
Zupełnie odmienne nastroje panują w obozie sympatyków akcji "Głosuj - NIE". - Jesteśmy bardzo, bardzo szczęśliwi - powiedziała w rozmowie z "Naszym Dziennikiem" irlandzka europarlamentarzystka Kathy Sinnot. - Myślę, że nasi obywatele także są szczęśliwi. Dla nich był to jak najbardziej proeuropejski wybór, gdyż podkreślający zwycięstwo jednej z największych wartości naszego kontynentu, czyli demokracji - dodała. Europejscy liderzy od początku twierdzili, że nie mają przygotowanego planu "B", jeśli Irlandia opowie się przeciwko dokumentowi. - Jeśli Irlandczycy zdecydują się odrzucić traktat lizboński, zwyczajnie nie będzie czegoś takiego jak traktat lizboński - powiedział premier Francji Fran ois Fillon. Z taką opinią zgadza się także Sinnot. - Wynik głosowania oznacza, że traktat przepadł. Znaczy to także, że jeśli Bruksela chce traktatu, to musi wrócić do początku i napisać dokument od nowa.
Należy stworzyć taką umowę, którą zaakceptują przede wszystkim obywatele. Taką, która będzie dobra dla Irlandii, dla Polski i dla każdego spośród 27 krajów członkowskich - stwierdziła posłanka Sinnot. Zauważyła przy tym, że aby tego typu dokument był naprawdę demokratyczny, obywatele wszystkich krajów muszą mieć możliwość kontrolowania procesu jego legislacji, dopiero wówczas będzie można powiedzieć, że wszystkie kraje Wspólnoty świadomie przystają na taki dokument.
Pomimo stanowczego "nie" Irlandii przewodniczący Komisji Europejskiej José Barroso opowiedział się za kontynuowaniem ratyfikacji traktatu lizbońskiego w kolejnych krajach UE.
- Premier Irlandii Brian Cowen powiedział, że traktat z Lizbony nie jest martwy. Ja wierzę, że jest on żywy - mówił Barroso. Zapowiedział, iż decyzję o dalszym rozwoju sytuacji w związku z wynikami referendum powinni podjąć przywódcy państw UE na przyszłotygodniowym brukselskim szczycie.
- Poproszę irlandzkiego premiera, aby wyjaśnił powody odrzucenia traktatu przez irlandzki naród - powiedział Janez Jansza, premier Słowenii, która sprawuje obecnie przewodnictwo w UE.
W innym duchu wypowiedział się jedynie prezydent Czech Vaclav Klaus, który nie kryje zadowolenia z wyników referendum. - Tylko w jednym jedynym państwie UE politycy umożliwili obywatelom wyrażenie ich poglądu. Wynik jest chyba dla wszystkich jasnym przesłaniem. Jest zwycięstwem wolności i rozumu nad sztucznymi elitarystycznymi projektami i europejską biurokracją - uważa Klaus.
Polski minister obrony narodowej Bogdan Klich powiedział, że jeśli wyniki referendum potwierdzą się, Irlandia powinna powtórzyć głosowanie. - Krytycznie oceniam suwerenną decyzję Irlandii, jeśli się ona potwierdzi - powiedział Klich. Dodał, że należy szybko wypracować takie mechanizmy, które pozwolą przekonać Irlandczyków do traktatu, i szybko przeprowadzić ponowne referendum.
- Ile razy obywatele mają odrzucać ten prawny bubel, by to dotarło do wszystkich jego zwolenników - retorycznie pyta Sinnott. - To już trzeci raz, jak traktat ewidentnie przegrywa w krajowych referendach. Odrzucili go już przecież Francuzi, potem Holendrzy, dziś uczynili to Irlandczycy - przypomina historię konstytucji, dziś zwanej traktatem, irlandzka europoseł. - Już raz powinien wystarczyć, by przemówić do rozsądku, a nie trzy. Kiedy liderzy wreszcie zaczną nas słuchać? - zakończyła.
Z tą opinią zgadza się całkowicie polski europoseł Konrad Szymański. - Traktat musi trafić do kosza, gdyż nie widzę żadnych możliwości, aby go poddawać ponownemu głosowaniu lub też przepychać bocznymi drzwiami - podsumował parlamentarzysta.
- Upada traktat, który zakładał zwiększenie kompetencji Unii wobec państw narodowych bez żadnego realnego zwiększenia solidarności w jej działaniach. Decyzja Irlandii jest dla Polski podwójnie korzystna: potwierdza pozycję naszego kraju w Unii - uważa lider Prawicy Rzeczypospolitej Marek Jurek.
W pamięci pozostają do dziś słowa z debaty w polskim Sejmie, w której premier Donald Tusk - już po podpisaniu traktatu reformującego - przyznał, że nie czytał tego dokumentu. Rodzi się więc pytanie, kto wykazuje się większą odpowiedzialnością, czy ci, którzy czytając traktat, nie zrozumiawszy go, głosują na "nie", czy ci, którzy w ogóle nie czytając dokumentu, całym sercem nawołują do popierania go?
Łukasz Sianożęcki

Alanis Morisette is quite open about the fact she didn't understand irony when she wrote her million selling single "Ironic" but I'll bet she never expected to get a crystal clear demonstration from a sixty year old man with a good job who really should know better.

The reason we voted NO to Lisbon wasn't because we like or believed any of the rubbish spouted by Sinn Fein or Libertas (who between them were actually one good reason for voting yes). Nor was it because we dislike Europe or we're afraid of commitment. It was simply because you asked us to sign a contract that we hadn't read and didn't understand. (If my boss asked me to do that I'd tell him where to shove his contract!).

When I switched on the Six O'Clock News last night I expected to see a man gracious in defeat with a clear understanding of what went wrong. You are the Taoiseach after all. You have Civil Servants to tell you what to say and do.

So, what did you do?. Did you show a clear understanding of the problem? NO! You spent ten minutes waffling on in the most unintelligible language on the planet - Irish.

"Blah, Blah, Blah" you uttered in your guttural voice. "Blah, Blah, Blah" you went on. "Blah, Blah, Blah" you continued until everyone listening had switched off and had begun to think about going to the pub.

Bertie, sorry - I mean Biffo, you're a man who lost an important vote because the document you were trying to sell wasn't written or communicated in plain English. And then, in a truly bizarre move, you chose to comment on it's defeat in a language nobody understands. That's Irony - Alanis would be proud of you.

Get a grip Biffo. We don't care about the bullshit scare mongering from the No Campaign or the Euro Skeptics, we're simply not going to let you commit us to anything until we know exactly what you're getting us into.

As the Catholic Church has already learned, the days of the blind faith of the Irish are over. We expect to be properly informed. Which is something you clearly don't understand.

Enjoy your trip to Brussels.

Yours Faithfully,

Ivanovitch.

On Behalf Of The Irish Electorate.

In 1980 the dark days followed in this country, there was emigration, despair, unemployment, lack of confidence. The only bright spark that united the country was Ray Houghton scoring a victorious goal against England http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okqR2zEIJHY  in the European Soccer Championship of 1988 in Stuggart, Germany the Celtic Tiger followed see   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Tiger  followed in the 1990’s a period of rapid economic growth, which has slowed down since 2007. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHKHQoAb0uU&feature=related  All in All We Are Just Another Brick In The Wall is a line from song ,Ireland today voted “No” to the Lisbon Treaty , the European Union has been thrown into turmoil so it seems. All 27 EU member states have to approve the Lisbon Treaty for it to be adopted , Ireland with 4.3 million people were the only country allowed to hold a refendrum under our constitution, the rest of the 495 million Europeans did not have this same choice ,one has to question what if they all had voted ?.18 countries so far have ratified the Lisbon Treaty through their governments. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner states we have benefited more than other members of the Eu in that Ireland has received billions of euros worth of subsidies from Brussels in its 35-year-old membership in the European Union.

 One should remind the French that they themselves with the Dutch voters rejected the EU Constitution in 2005,comments from Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are not helpful and creates a division between the EU elite-o-crats and the voting public. The ratification of the Lisbon Treaty should continue as planned as stated by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as if the Irish referendum never took place. Is this the EU -- which sings the praises of how democracy works, we will have to wait and see what transpires when the next Eu summit takes place. Just like the words in the Pink Floyd song are we just Another Brick in the Wall!

 The final referendum result showed voted No 53.4%, voted Yes 46.6%. There were No votes 862,415 to yes votes 752,451, a difference of 109,964. The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso insisted the treaty was "still alive”..bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7453626.stm   He said he had spoken to Irish prime minister Brian Cowen, who had insisted that the No vote should not be seen as a vote against the EU.It is an embarrassing defeat for Ireland's New Taoiseach though and all in government, who led the Yes campaign which spent millions, a united front with their opposition opponents in Government Enda Kenny’s led Fine Gael and Eamon Gilmore’s Labour did little to sway voters towards a Yes result. Libertas, Socialists, Sinn Fein the only opposition party in the Dail and Kathy Sinnott made up some the Anti-Treaty groups. The people of Ireland have spoken today with a resounding “No “.

 RTE has more on its link  http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0613/eulisbon_av.html?2386981,null,230

Silny wzrost poparcia dla przeciwników traktatu reformującego Unię Europejską, jaki nastąpił w Irlandii tuż przed referendum, wzbudził lekki popłoch w Brukseli wśród jego zwolenników, którzy przyznają, że nie mają alternatywnego planu.

Czy Irlandia będzie krajem, który pokrzyżuje planowane przez euroentuzjastów tworzenie superpaństwa zwanego Unią Europejską? Wiele wskazuje na to, że tak. Nastroje w społeczeństwie przed zaplanowanym na 12 czerwca referendum w sprawie traktatu z Lizbony są zdecydowanie niechętne temu dokumentowi. Sytuacji nie wydają się zmieniać nawet apele premiera kraju, a także pozostałych przedstawicieli partii rządzących. Przerażeni wynikami sondaży politycy wszystkich liczących się opcji, nawet tych, które dotychczas pozostawały eurosceptyczne, namawiają Irlandczyków do głosowania za przyjęciem projektu.

Na kilka dni przed referendum w sprawie przyjęcia traktatu lizbońskiego liczba Irlandczyków opowiadających się przeciwko niemu po raz pierwszy przewyższyła liczbę jego zwolenników - wykazał najnowszy sondaż, którego wyniki zamieścił w swym serwisie internetowym dziennik "The Irish Times". Z przeprowadzonego badania wynika, że 35 proc. ankietowanych zamierza 12 czerwca głosować przeciwko traktatowi. Poparcie dla niego wyraziło 30 proc. respondentów, natomiast blisko jedna trzecia jeszcze nie zdecydowała, jak zagłosuje.
Jest to duża zmiana, gdyż niepełna trzy tygodnie temu chęć głosowania na "nie" deklarowało jedynie 17 proc. Irlandczyków, podczas gdy za traktatem opowiadało się 35 proc. z nich.
Najczęstszą odpowiedzią ankietowanych na pytanie, dlaczego głosują na "nie", było stwierdzenie, że nie wiedzą, na co głosują, lub że nie rozumieją zapisów dokumentu. Sądząc z wypowiedzi niektórych polityków, można odnieść wrażenie, że nie tylko oni.
Sytuacja wydaje się więc niekorzystna dla zwolenników przyjęcia traktatu. Wczoraj o "poparcie z entuzjazmem" lizbońskiego dokumentu zaapelował do swoich rodaków premier Irlandii Brian Cowen. - W czym rzecz? W zatrudnieniu. Chodzi o to, by spróbować utrzymać zatrudnienie. Chodzi o to, by znaleźć sposób na przedłużenie wzrostu naszej gospodarki - zachwalał traktat Cowen. Dodał, że dokument ten pozwoli Unii Europejskiej na skuteczność i da jej środki umożliwiające sprostanie współczesnym wyzwaniom oraz integracji finansowej i wielkim problemom, jakimi są globalne ocieplenie i przestępczość międzynarodowa.
Także przedstawiciele wszystkich głównych partii Irlandii w Parlamencie Europejskim nawołują do popierania unijnego dokumentu. Próbowaliśmy się skontaktować także z europarlametarzystami Fianna Fáil, czyli partii rządzącej Zieloną Wyspą, jednak okazało się to niemożliwe, gdyż - jak nas poinformowano - wszyscy eurodeputowani wszystkich frakcji opuścili Brukselę i udali się do ojczyzny, by prowadzić w swoich okręgach wyborczych kampanie na rzecz poparcia traktatu.
W swoim oświadczeniu umieszczonym na stronie internetowej Fianna Fáil podaje, że wspólne wysiłki partii przeciwnych traktatowi, czyli Sinn Fein, Libertas, Youth Defence, wprowadzają tylko zamęt w głowach obywateli i opierają się na jawnej nieprawdzie. - Ich wysiłki zostały jednak oczywiście zdyskredytowane - powiedzieli na konferencji prasowej zatytułowanej "Głosuj TAK dla irlandzkiej przyszłości" czołowi przedstawiciele koalicji rządzącej, mimo niechętnych traktatowi nastrojów społecznych. Do popierania dokumentu zachęcali w jej ramach, m.in. minister sprawiedliwości Dermot Ahern oraz minister ds. Europejskich Dick Roche. Z kolei minister finansów Brian Lenihan powiedział, że ewentualne głosowanie na "nie" spowoduje niepoliczalne szkody dla pozycji Irlandii w Europie. - Zamierzam walczyć, walczyć i jeszcze raz walczyć przez cały następny tydzień, gdyż gorąco wierzę, że ten traktat jest dobry dla Irlandii - stwierdził Lenihan.
Przeciwnicy tego dokumentu są zdania, że w ramach zapisanej w nim redukcji od 2014 r. liczby komisarzy unijnych, Irlandia utraci swojego komisarza. Obawiają się również zakwestionowania statusu podatkowego Irlandii oraz zrujnowania miejscowego rolnictwa poprzez otworzenie unijnego rynku żywności na import tańszych produktów. Ponadto dodają, iż traktat może umożliwiać UE wywieranie presji na Irlandię w celu zmiany obowiązującego w tym kraju prawa w kierunku zabijania poczętych dzieci oraz formalizacji związków osób tej samej płci.
Spośród 27 państw członkowskich UE, tylko w Irlandii istnieje ustawowy wymóg poddania traktatu reformującego UE pod referendum. W pozostałych krajach o ratyfikacji zadecydują parlamenty (lub już to zrobiły). Traktat lizboński wejdzie w życie jedynie pod warunkiem, że zaakceptują go wszystkie państwa członkowskie.
Łukasz Sianożęcki

For example, as was validly pointed out on That's Ireland, many of the "no" posters were illegally published. Why were they not (promptly) removed? Moreover, the backgrounds of the people promoting these views were proving quite mysterious. Indeed, I remember one letter to the Irish Times, in particular, which asked why it was so hard to find out who was behind the Coir campaign. The first I learned of who they were came from Bock The Robber, who outted them here. He, then, followed this revelation up with a similar expose on Libertas (although I had seen that one beforehand in the mainstream press).

However, when it came to how the main political parties of this country dealt with this weaselly sophistry, we got a response composed of bombast, bluster, and banality. Just brilliant! Great to see how the time spent in the UCD and Trinity College debating chambers was not wasted on them.

What is more, I was initially under the mistaken impression that there was a general election being held in conjunction with the referendum. Not only were the politicians squabbling amongst each other, instead of presenting a unified front on a subject that they claimed to agree on, but the posters that went up seemed to be more interested in promoting name and face recognition of their local representatives rather than saying why people should vote in favour of the treaty. Shameful. By the way, please do not give me any guff about the posters acting as a form of personal endorsement, as I will not have it for a moment!

If you will indulge me, I would also like to give a quick overview of my perception of what the main political proponents of the Treaty have got up to in recent weeks.

Fianna Fail

My abiding memory will be of Brian "The Jowl" Cowen photographed each day in whatever unflattering pose that the photographer could capture him in. How surrounding himself with a bevy of smarmy-faced, yellow T-shirted college kids was meant to win votes is beyond me. There was then the ever-ludicrous Charlie "Spud-In-His-Mouth" McCreevy making a virtue out of ignorance in boasting openly about how he has never read the Treaty. Great to see my tax euros at work - it always is. Other lowlights included some minister or other photographed canvassing in what suspiciously looked like an empty cattle mart, while this clown of a sitting TD made sure that he stole all of the headlines last week.

Fine Gael

Did the ghost of Alan Dukes come whispering to Enda "Anaemic" Kenny before this campaign? Despite asking the electorate to keep Ireland at the heart of Europe, old Enda's ticker simply has not been in this fight. Into the vacuum that he created, though, swept the party's spokeswoman on European Affairs, Lucinda Creighton, who has done her future political ambitions no harm at all really.

Labour

In one sense, this has been a great campaign for Labour, as they cosied up nicely to Fianna Fail. The days of that mean old Pat Rabbitte keeping them out of public office will soon seem like a distant memory! Perhaps the reason why Enda was so conspicuous by his absence was that he was searching for a tent to go sulk in? Fortunately, for me, at least, Eamon Gilmore's still less-than-stellar performance has ensured that my current meditation technique remain unaffected. Whenever I need to empty my mind, I simply think of him.

The Green Party

it is unfair of people to continuously make jokes about how the Greens wear sandals. It is pretty obvious to me that flip-flops are their footwear of choice these days. Could this party actually become any more ridiculous? Sadly, if anyone can, they can.

Progressive Democrats

Honestly, now, who really cares what they got up to?

____________________________________

Disclosure: Please read this blog entry for my personal opinion on which way to vote on the Lisbon Treaty.

Last evening, I joined the Labour leader Eamon Gilmore, the Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Olivia Mitchell of Fine Gael in a visit to Dundrum Town Centre to advocate a Yes vote in the upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

There is no doubt that while the Labour party has been very vocal in the past number of months regarding the referendum, a joint canvass by ourselves, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael can only serve to show the Irish public how strongly we all believe in a Yes vote.

As we enter the final straight in terms of the campaign, it's time to focus on getting people out to vote. It's not too late to get up-to-date with what the Treaty is all about. There is still time to make an informed decision - and not to get caught up in many of the myths being pushed regarding the Treaty.

More :: You can view more photos from the Dundrum canvass by clicking here
More :: Watch the RTE report from Dundrum
More :: For more information on the Lisbon Treaty and to download a copy of the full text, visit the Labour Lisbon Treaty website. Alternatively visit the Referendum Commission website.

This is the first reference made by myself or my colleagues in the House and we make it in a positive sense, something with which colleagues on the other side of the House might not be familiar.

The Taoiseach made an ill-judged remark at the weekend and appears to want to move on. Yesterday, the Leader did not sound like he wanted to move on.

If the treaty is to be passed, as desired by most Senators, engaging in a sad, sorry skirmish as to who is doing more in the midlands or elsewhere will not get anyone anywhere.

What needs to be focused now is getting people to vote Yes, no matter what political creed they subscribe to. Let us get the facts out there. And let us resist the temptation we feel, as Eamon Gilmore said yesterday, to give each other a kicking.

More :: Opposition anger over Cassidy's accusations (The Irish Times) *Subscription required
More :: Remember to visit Labour's Lisbon Website

I must admit, I myself have joked on occasion about putting my children on EBay; $5 opening bid, No Reserve. Saying it seemed funny at the time, but actually doing it, no, I can’t say I have ever been tempted. A young couple in the Bavarian town of Krumbach did decide to take it a step further when they offered their 8-month old son “because he cried too much.” In spite of the fact that they maintain they were kidding, the child is now in State custody, and the parents are under investigation for “child trafficking”.

I have no doubt this was a joke that got out of hand, the opening amount alone (1 Euro) tells me that. Besides, the thought that anybody could be that stupid is simply too depressing. However, I have to wonder what they were thinking: was it a bet? Did they want to find out how easy it would be to get arrested without leaving your home? Were they testing out a concept for a new reality TV show? It just goes to show that a sense of humor is a tricky thing, and that children and EBay don’t mix. Also, you shouldn't get that drunk when you have a baby in the house.

In other news, why the Irish have more fun than we do: brand new Prime Minister Brian Cowen was busted using a Very Bad Word after a heated session in parliament. Doesn’t it suck when those microphones stay open?

In British Columbia, the mystery deepens as severed foot number four was recently discovered. It was found on a small island south of Vancouver, but it is not yet known if it was a right or left foot. All previous feet were right, and still wearing sneakers. Sometimes news stories get so strange, I don’t even know what joke to make. I guess jokes are probably not all that appropriate anyway, considering those feet most likely belong to no-longer-alive bodies. Maybe the feet aren’t real, and it’s just a publicity stunt; maybe it’s a bad prank by some grave robbers, and the feet come from people that were already dead to begin with? After all, if someone somewhere is dumb enough to dig up a head and turn it into a bong, the thought that someone else is dumb enough to send the Mounties on a wild goose hunt isn’t so farfetched.

Con
He went on the record recently saying that it was a bit rich of Lisbon Treaty opponents to call the treaty in particular or the EU in general "anti-democratic" when they themselves lacked a "democratic mandate". Seems Brian (not untypically for a representative) can't imagine any form of democracy that isn't representative democracy. If the mandate he and his mates have (votes from last year's general election) amount to an endorsement of the Lisbon Treaty then it is a very vague one at most.

One key difference between anti-Lisbonites and the EU, which Biffo ignored, is that Libertas, or whomever, aren't levying taxes on me or making rules which bind me or other citizens. They're just voicing an opinion. What's the Tea Shack worried about? Is he really arguing that you need to be a TD to legitimately express an opinion in public on an issue?

The anti-Treaty campaigns (as distinct from anti-Treaty parties like Sinn Fein) aren't such bad examples of democratic bodies since all their members signed up because of their express agreement with that side of the argument and their funding comes from those who again expressly agree with the opinion or at least with it being aired.

On the other hand, Cowen has applied the whip in the severest manner to his own party to force not only support for the treaty but active campaigning for a yes vote out of Fianna Failers. And government and party money has needless to say flowed into the Yes campaigns although not every party member or donor or taxpayer is necessarily a supporter of the referendum. Funny thing, democracy. Maybe if the Bri Man finishes reading the Treaty cover to cover he'll find some positive reasons in favour of it to focus on instead of warning the public off the No Side, who are, it should be noted, a motley enough crew and no strangers to the odd bit of rampant hyperbole themselves.

Pro
We all had great craic overhearing Brian telling his right-hand Mary (Coughlan that is) in the Dail and under his breath to knock some heads together and get those "fuckers" from the National Consumer Agency in. For a nice cup of tea and a chat presumably. Our fella has truly stepped into the realm of major world leaders now that he's had his very own "Yo, Blair!" moment.

Yes, that’s right. The Taoiseach swears. Even the eff-word. The bad eff-word. Not ‘feck’ – you know the one I mean. I’m as shocked as you are. Apparently (although I’m not sure how true this is), he goes to the toilet sometimes too. I mean, who would have thought it?

After being subjected to repeated (pre-watershed) airings of his disgraceful misdemeanour, and a great deal of sanctimonious hand wringing from Enda Kenny (a man who once told a ‘joke’ which included the word ‘nigger’, which is considerably more offensive than ‘f***er’), a somewhat humbled Taoiseach issued an apology through the media. He said: “I’m really fucking sorry. Regardless of the fucking context or regardless of whether it was being heard publicly or privately it should not have fucking been said and I withdraw it and I acknowledge it. Now, fuck the fuck off and leave me alone, you fucking f***ers. Go on, get ta fuck.”

The hugely important story of Cowen’s ‘four letter outburst’ (seven, surely) somehow made its way onto the front pages of almost every newspaper on Thursday, from the Times to the Indo, right down to the S*n. It’s completely understandable, as there is clearly fuck-all else worth reporting at the moment. The economy is a bit fucked; the health service is utterly fucked; the Lisbon Treaty is fucking incomprehensible to most of the fucking electorate. But who gives a fuck about any of that? The Taoiseach whispered the word ‘f***ers’ in the Dáil, and that’s all that fucking matters.

Tomorrow: Mary Harney apologises for telling cancer patients to 'get f***ed'

But he's not. In the interview this morning, he said that he withdraws the comment, and is happy to do so, but then he started complaining about the number of times Fine Gael interrupted him, as if that was a bigger issue. He didn't sound contrite, he didn't sound like he was apologising, he sounded like he felt he was being unfairly attacked. He sounded petulent and whingy.

It's only a small issue - I have no problem with swearing, on the radio or anything, but this isn't about swearing, it's about respect and attitude. And on that, I'm disappointed in the Taoiseach. What he does in office is of course much more important, but since respect and attitude are a guide to personality, it's not a good start.

By actively engaging in bilingual debate in the Dáil since he was made Taoiseach, he has made me... jesus I can't even say it... he has made me wonder if I could in some parallel universe... vote for Fianna Fáil.

I know.

What has been particularly interesting is the press coverage of all this public Gaeilge.

Breaking news on ireland.com gave the full text of his speech on Wednesday, the first half of which was in Irish, and blissfully enough when he started speaking English he didn't simply repeat himself thereby engaging in crass tokenism... I may be in trouble here, my heart did in fact skip a beat...

Yesterday's Irish Times seems to have skipped over that part of the day.

Now, I can understand them not wanting to print the whole speech - in fact if they were going with the "sure why would we report that, it's the first language of the country, of course the leader of the country can and does speak it" I might even buy them a pint or two. But it doesn't feel like that's what's going on. Not least because every other paper I saw seems to have taken the same approach.

Which leads to an interesting, and in my case mildly amusing question - if Mr Cowen persists in speaking that mad language with all the CHHHHH sounds... at what point will mainstream media say "oh, right, eh... does somebody have a dictionary?"

What's the policy, will they simply translate as they would from French or Russian? Or will they have the good grace to respect our language enough to print it? Or better still (and we're strolling right into fantasyland here) will they print the original and the translation, with a bit of a foclóir, and take the opportunity that is clearly being presented to help everyone develop their language skills?

If nothing else, it will be an interesting little development to keep an eye on.

Sorry.