Lisbon Vote is D-Day for Irish farmers

Press Release by Farmers for NO
Statement by James Reynolds, chairman of 'Farmers for No'.

'Friday will be D-Day for farm families and the rural community in Ireland.

'Government research found that 48 per cent of farmers voted No to Lisbon last year, Farmers for No calls on each on every member of the rural community to come out on Friday and vote no again.

'Vote No to protect your economic self-interest.

'The Irish TImes explanation on LIsbon today said : THE LISBON Treaty increases the areas that decisions are made in the Council of Ministers via qualified majority voting (QMV) rather than requiring a unanimous decision supported by all 27 EU member states."

'It is clear that Ireland will weaken its negotiatiing position by halfing its vote at the EU Council of Ministers or by handing away vetos at the same Council.
Ireland is currently at the political heart of the EU, because we are important - they need us. Once we vote Yes, we immediately become an irrelevance - as eaten bread in quickly forgotten. We cannot improve our economy by halving our vote.

'During the Pat Kenny show yesterday, Pat Rabitte misled people about Labour position on Turkish accession. At the Forum for Europe in November 2006, the three main parties all pledged support for Turkish accession as part of their policy positions.
It is clear Ireland's politicians will not veto Turkish accession - it is up to the people to do so.

'Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president last June said, "No Lisbon [Treaty], no enlargement,". He added that "the Nice Treaty limited the EU to a membership of 27 states."

'Like Sarkozy and Merkel, Farmers for No say that Lisbon is a prerequisite for enlargement. If we vote No to Lisbon, enlargement cannot take place; Turkey cannot enter the EU. A yes to Lisbon allows Turkey in the garden gate, even if a further vote is needed on their specific accession to to allow them in the EU front door. Most people don't know that in July 2009 another chapter of the accession negotiations, the 11th out of 35, was opened.

'Voting Yes and allowing potential Turkish entry to the EU would be an act of economic suicide for Ireland.
First the high number of Turkish farmers would sink CAP payments as we know them.
Secondly the free movement of 75 million people from Turkey around the EU would put huge strain on the labour market.
If Nice brought in half a million economic migrants during a boom, then Lisbon could help bring in half a million migrants at a time of recession. To allow this to happen would be an act of economic suicide.
' I ask people to vote No to Lisbon and protect CAP payments and the balance of the Irish labour market.
Frits Bolkestein, the internal market commissioner in 2004:
"After Turkish entry the EU will simply be unable to sustain its current agricultural and regional policy. Europe would implode." Farmers for No agree with this assessment, that along with the need to hold onto our WTO veto, threatened by art 207 of Lisbon is why we call for a No vote.'
ends

IFA heads cheerleading more EU hyperregulation and colluding in Yes push with untrustworthy Government who have left farmers in huge debt.

Spokesman for Farmers for NO, current Limerick IFA vice chairman,
David Thompson said Thursday 27/8/09:


'Lisbon transfers power from the Irish people to EU institutions.

'If Lisbon is passed Ireland's voting weight at the key EU Council of Ministers falls from 2 per cent to 0.8 percent.

How can the IFA think that loosing voting strength will help Ireland's negotiating strength going forward?

Where is its evidence a fall in voting strenght will help Irish negotiators?
Where is Padraig Walsh's evidence that 0.8 per cent voting weight puts us at the heart of Europe?

Farmers for NO advocate a NO vote to prevent further hyper-regulation from the EU.
While out of touch IFA leaders are acting as cheerleaders for EU measures the EU Nitrates Directive has placed a huge financial burden on Irish farmers who must comply by taking our bank loans and building slurry sheds.

On top of this Government ministers who advocate a Yes vote, and ask the people to trust them have trashed their contractual obligations to pay the farmers for the sheds they have built under the Farm Waste Management Scheme.

I ask the IFA, why should farmers being financially crippled by the Nitrates Directive vote for Lisbon and more hyper-regulation?

Why should farmers now trust the Irish government who have broken recent contracts and left thousands of farmers in hoc to the banks with huge debts?

Farmers for NO are appalled that IFA leaders who failed to consult local members in a ballot are colluding for a Yes vote with untrustworthy government ministers who have shafted Irish farmers and left them in debt.

Farmers have found to their cost that this government cannot be trusted.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president last June said, "No Lisbon [Treaty], no enlargement,". He added that "the Nice Treaty limited the EU to a membership of 27 states."

Like Sarkozy and Merkel, Farmers for No say that Lisbon is a prerequisite for enlargement. If we vote No to Lisbon, enlargement cannot take place. Turkey cannot enter the EU. Therefore Lisbon is a proxy vote on Turkish entry.

We have produced evidence, where is the IFA leaders evidence for their claims to the contrary?'

'Given that in a debate with me on LMFM on Tuesday morning, Meath IFA leader Eddie Downey said he would welcome Turkish accession talks, would welcome Turkish entry to the EU and did not want to deny anyone the benefits of Europe.

FF, FG and Labour are all on the record as supporting Turkish entry to the EU. Is it now IFA policy to support the EU entry of Turkey?

Does the IFA disagree or agree with former EU Commissioner Frits Bolkestein who said, "After Turkish entry the EU will simply be unable to sustain its current agricultural and regional policy. Europe would implode."?

Farmer for NO holds that if the IFA supports the Lisbon and Turkish entry of Turkey to the EU it will cause the decimation of CAP payments and the destruction of Irish agriculture.


ends
Farmers for No spokesman, David Thompson is currently vice chairman of Limerick IFA and vice chairman of Farmers for No.

Background
Millward Brown study in 2008 found that 48 per cent of farmers voted No to Lisbon.
Farmers for No group has garnered many hundreds of pledges of support since its launch.

Growing everyday - Officer Board of the "Farmers for No"

The list of the Officer Board of the "Farmers for No" are as follows : -

CHAIRMAN : James Reynolds, current Secretary of Ballinalee IFA Branch and former Longford IFA County Chairman and former Member of the IFA National Industrial and Environment, Rural Development and Farm Business Committees.

NATIONAL VICE-CHAIRMAN and SPOKESMAN: David Thompson, former Limerick IFA County Chairman, former Limerick County Representative on IFA National Council and former Member of the IFA National Dairy and Animal Health Committees. Currently vice chairman of Limerick IFA.

SECRETARY : Michael Reidy, Member of Kerry IFA County Executive.

TREASURER : Noel McCabe, former Westmeath Representative on the IFA National Industrial and Environment Committee.

PRO : Billy Clancy Member of North Tipperary County Council and former Member of North Tipperary IFA County Executive.

Other Members of the Officer Board include:
Gerry Murphy, former Waterford IFA County Chairman, former Member of the IFA National Rules and Privileges Committee, former Waterford County Representative on IFA National Council and former Member of the IFA National Industrial and Environment Committee.

Peter Fox, former Longford County Representative on the IFA National Livestock Committee.

Con Cremin, current Limerick ICSA County Chairman.

Winston Turner, IFA Member and former Member of Cavan County Council and former Leader of Cavan Roads Action Group and Member of the Board of the National Federation of Group Water Schemes.

Jackie Marren, Chairman of the Sligo Farming Platform and Member of Sligo IFA County Executive.

John Campbell, current Chairman of Edgeworthstown IFA Branch and former Longford IFA County Vice-Chairman.

Paddy Boyhan, Westmeath, former Member of the National Executive of the United Farmers' Association.

Sean Guerin, Chairman of Retired Farmers Group, Former Chairman of Kerry IFA.

'Farmers for NO' Campaign launched on the 20th August

Press Release which was issued on Thursday 20th August, Immediate effect


A new group of senior farming representatives was today launched to actively campaign for a second No vote to Lisbon.
'Farmers for No' was launched in Buswells Hotel today at 12 noon. [The Launch was introduced by vice-chairman David Thompson - current vice Chairman of Limerick IFA.]
National chairman of Farmers for No, James Reynolds, a former chairman of Longford IFA ,said it was crucial that the Irish farming community vote No to protect the future of Irish agriculture. The group is made up of senior farm leaders elected by farmers to represent their views.
Former Munster MEP Kathy Sinnott was guest speaker at the press launch.

....At the press conference today in Buswells, James Reynolds said:


Lisbon is a proxy referendum on Turkish entry - I call on Irish farmers to vote no.

Just as the Treaty of Nice facilitated the entry and free movement of many people from the new states of Eastern Europe, we are now told that Lisbon will facilitate even further enlargement.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president last June said, "No Lisbon [Treaty], no enlargement,". He added that "the Nice Treaty limited the EU to a membership of 27 states."

Of particular concern to me is the fact that the EU has opened up entry talks with Turkey, a state of 75 million people, which is economically underdeveloped and has a particularly poor human rights record.
The EU CAP budget is currently over-stretched. The accession of Turkey's-75 million people- would place too great a financial burden on member states. Turkish accession means the number of farmers in the EU would double overnight, causing the CAP payments scheme would collapse across western Europe.
After Lisbon, the Ever Closer union is also an Ever Expanding Union - this has huge financial consequences for farmers and it is to their detriment.
As the three largest political parties here all support Turkish accession; because the Treaty of Lisbon facilitates the EU entry of Turkey I urge Irish farmers vote against it.
As Lisbon is a proxy referendum on Turkish entry - I call on Irish farmers to vote NO to hold on to their C.A.P.

Farmers are sick of EU hyper-regulation. We don't want to be an Irish theme park.

As a farmer I am sick to death of the culture of hyper-regulation which comes from Brussels. The Nitrates Directive, Habitat Directive, Soil Directive, etc etc are slowly but surely strangling Irish agriculture.
Irish farmers refuse to be turned into film extras for some Irish Disney theme park for the urban elite of Europe. We want living communities in rural Ireland, not a theme park.

EU Commission proposals on inheritance law will prevent farmers passing on farm as single working unit - this is unacceptable.

EU Commission proposals on inheritance law harmonisation, if fully implemented, would mean that Irish farmers will not be able to pass on their family farm as a single working unit to one of their children in the future.
The partial harmonisation of inheritance codes throughtout the EU as proposed by the commission will mean the continental judicial system in this matter would prevail over the Irish Common Law system. It would mean a reserved portion of the deceased's property would have to go to the children of the deceased in equal portion.
Those countries with the Napoleonic Code insist that one cannot leave property as one wishes, but that all children have an equal share.
This would mean the family farm would have to be broken up or sold.

In May this year, the EU Commission dropped the proposals to partially harmonise inheritance law throughout the EU until after Lisbon is voted on. This move was cynical and beneath contempt. Irish farmers want and deserve transparency of this issue.
The decision to delay the proposal follows a similar move last year to quietly drop the commission’s controversial proposal to harmonise the corporate tax base in the EU (CCCTB) .

Because of our Lisbon NO vote, we have residual leverage to force the EU to drop Corporate Tax Base proposals. Once we say yes our leverage is gone.
Once we say yes, they will introduce Corporate Tax Base and introduce measures to bring in harmonised inheritance law - meaning that farmers can't leave their farm as one working unit to a single child.
This would be a disaster. Almost unspeakable crime against farmers and Irish traditions.

The Irish Constitution has rock solid defence of property and inheritance rights. The Lisbon Charter does not.

Irelands Constitution Article 43 states: 'The State........guarantees to pass no law attempting to abolish the right of private ownership or the general right to transfer, bequeath, and inherit property'

And the following is what we get if the Lisbon Treaty is accepted :
Under Property Rights in the Lisbon Charter of Fundamental Rights it states: (CFR art 17) Property 'No one can be deprived of his or her possessions, except in the public interest and in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law'........

Now we rightly ask clarification of this (Article 17) Right to Property in the Charter of Rights attached to the Lisbon Treaty :
What law(s) refer ? What are these conditions referred to ? What are these cases ?
Who decides on defining these headings? When and how can any of this happen ?
To whom will the law(s) apply ? Who is going to make these laws ? What is the public interest......who decides what it is ? Can one object to, and/or appeal a decision...and to whom?
Where is the certainty in all of this, when matched against our Irish Constitution?
I believe it is the Irish people should decide their values and their laws. And we should not be prevented from handing on the family farm to a child it that is our lasting will.

Article 188 of Lisbon abolishes irish veto on WTO trade agreements

Farmers must vote no to the Lisbon Treaty unless they want to go the way of the fishermen, and Irish Ferry workers, and the sugar beet industry.

This is because article 188C and N of Lisbon would remove Ireland's veto in commercial policy agreements with international organisations like the WTO.

Even the Forum for Europe booklet 2008 (p64) is clear that “negotiations and conclusion of agreements with one or more third countries or international organisations in the field of commercial policy” moves from unanimity to qualified majority voting (QMV).

If farmers wish to maintain an Irish veto over WTO agreements in the future they must vote No.

To vote Yes would be a death wish to our beef industry in particular and Irish farming in general. Maintaining our veto in as many policy areas as possible, strengthens our hand in negotiations, and ensures Irish interests are protected. It also means laws cannot be imposed on us against our will by people who are not accountable to us

For among the reasons outlined above I call on Irish farmers to come out and vote No to Lisbon in October, just as they did last year.