A referendum the right thing to do

TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY insists that he is not afraid to hold a referendum on the EU austerity treaty, what Brussels calls the fiscal compact.
If Enda Kenny is truly not afraid then he should allow a referendum, whether the Attorney General thinks it is necessary or not.
Pearse Doherty has reminded people that the Attorney General told the last government it did not have to hold the Donegal South-West by-election — a view subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court and the seat won by Pearse for Sinn Féin.
This treaty involves the surrender of important Irish fiscal and budgetary matters to unelected and unaccountable EU officials and the imposition of drastic and destructive austerity.
It confers significant new powers on the European Commission and European Court of Justice to compel member states to alter their fiscal and budgetary policies or face significant fines.
This treaty is anti-growth and anti-jobs. If ratified, it will place an economic straight jacket on Ireland for decades. Its debt and deficit limits are draconian and will mean decades of austerity imposed on a country crying out for investment in jobs and growth.
Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams TD said: “Irish citizens must have their say on a treaty with such far-reaching implications for this country. Irrespective of what advice the Government gets from the Attorney General, a referendum is now a democratic imperative.”
If Enda Kenny and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore do not allow a vote, then surely that shows they are really afraid of what the Irish people might say.
Fine Gael Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has revealed that he is “not a fan” of referendums because he thinks they’re not “very democratic”. Bizarre that may be but we now know where at least one of Enda Kenny’s ministers stands. What about the rest?
Each and every Fine Gael and Labour TD and senator must publicly speak up for a referendum. If they don’t, then that says a lot about them too. They cannot stay silent on such a core democratic principle. This treaty move will shackle every future Irish government — and the Irish people — to budgets dictated by Brussels rather than according to the needs of Ireland at the time.
In case Fine Gael and Labour refuse the people a democratic voice, Sinn Féin is receiving independent legal advice about forcing a referendum.
But the Government should not have to be forced into letting the Irish people have a referendum on this issue. This treaty change will dictate the future of Ireland and not just us today, but our children, our children’s children, and the generations of Irish people that will follow them.