Lisbon vote may affect us, but EU must heed our reasoning

WHILE the outcome of the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty could have negative implications for farmers, there are lessons to be learned on the importance of democracy and the inadequacy of EU communications.

Farmers I spoke to after the ballot seem to have rejected the treaty at a rate equal to the national trend, contrary to the claims of farmer organisations of a strong positive vote from the sector, which was called for and supported by those organisations.

Reasons why the Irish electorate did not give majority support to the referendum were varied. Within farming, the lack of understanding of a complex, unreadable document was an issue. Government bungling of support for farmers worried about world trade deals became an issue.