Greens: Yes vote a ‘crucial first step’

ECONOMIC recovery will begin on Saturday morning, if the Lisbon Treaty is accepted, Communications Minister Eamon Ryan claimed in a final appeal for a Yes vote.

Green Party leader John Gormley added that ratifying the treaty is the “crucial first step” to economicrecovery and anyone who claims otherwise is “deluded”.

The junior government party used its final press conference ahead of the referendum to stress the importance of Lisbon to the development of the green economy and once again to insist it will not affect Ireland’s military neutrality.

Mr Ryan said the Lisbon Treaty will help Ireland to become an energy exporter to the rest of Europe, using the resources of wind and sea energy.

“This is the area where jobs are going to come. This is the area where there is the potential for us to make money and bring in money.

“The next big challenge once we get Lisbon out of the way is delivering that green economy. We can do that starting Saturday morning if we get a Yes vote.”

Mr Gormley said some of what he described as “propaganda” of the No side has worked in convincing people that there will be conscription to a European army if they vote Yes. But he said it has not been as successful as it was in the last Lisbon campaign.

“If we can dispel some of these myths, we can certainly look forward to a Yes vote and that will be the first step to economic recovery,” he said. “It is a crucial step for this country and anyone who says otherwise is deluding themselves.”

Brendan Halligan of Sustainable Energy Ireland, said Article 191 of the treaty requires the EU to promote measures to deal with environmental problems, in particular combating climate change.

“Europe is already the leader in combating greenhouse gas emissions. A ratification of the treaty will require the union to up the pace and force the United States and China and others to follow our example.”

Eddie O’Connor, chief executive of energy company Mainstream Renewable Power, called for a Yes vote which he said “deals with the greatest crisis besetting the world and that is the energy crisis.”

Thanks to the insistence of the Green Party, it is “the first treaty that specifically deals with energy”.