We need Europe to protect our interests

WHERE would Ireland be if it was not an EU member? When we joined, our average income per capita was 55% the EU average. Ireland is now the second wealthiest country in EU 27.

The reality is that our economy has grown thanks to EU membership over the past 36 years. The EU has also contributed more than €40 billion to this country over this same period.

To vote against the Lisbon treaty for economic reasons would be a no-brainer. Europe is where we sell our products and EU membership is the reason why foreign companies locate in Ireland.

Any good company will always update its organisational structures after 50 years. That is what the Lisbon treaty clearly achieves in my view.

In an economic downturn, do we have the luxury to say we will move away from Europe, isolate ourselves on the periphery of the continent and, unaided, get ourselves out of the economic situation we are in now? We need Europe more than ever to protect our future economic interests. Ratification of the treaty will help the Irish and European economies to prosper.

James Treacy

Managing Director

BusinessPro

Chairman

Irish Fraud Bureau

South Frederick Street

Dublin 2