Opponents of EU Constitution stage Dáil protest

A small protest against the proposed EU Constitution was held outside the Dáil in Dublin earlier today.

The document was signed by the leaders of the 25 EU member states today, but it will not come into effect until referenda have been held in a number of countries, including Ireland.

Today's Dáil protest was organised by the so-called People's Movement, which claimed the EU Constitution would diminish Ireland's independence and speed up moves towards a federal Europe.

Former Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna, who was one of those involved, said the proposed document would also water down Ireland's own Constitution and infringe on Ireland's neutrality.

"Our own Constitution ensures that all the power that the Government gets comes from the people," she said. "The EU Constitution will very much change that. We also believe that there's a huge infringement on the whole idea of Irish neutrality because there is clearly now a military Europe and a common defence policy which we will be involved in."