Britannia Radio

If this doesn't settle the issue once and for all nothing will,  and 
we'll know that all pretence of democracy in the EU is utterly and 
contemptibly false

cs
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THE SUN (Irish Edition)    3.12.08
Charlie: No Lisbon II
Tom Prendeville The Sun (Irish edition)

Charlie McCreevy has told the Government: "There should be no Lisbon 
Treaty re-run." The EU Commissioner has even called on politicians to 
lay off criticising Declan Ganley of Libertas after he campaigned for 
a No vote.
Ex-Finance Minister McCreevy said: "The Irish people said No - and 
that decision has to be respected, by our European partners as well.
"Over 53 per cent of the Irish electorate turned out, and a 
considerable segment of them were actually people who hadn't voted in 
the 2007 Irish General Election.
"So therefore, people did take the issue very seriously.
That has to be respected."

Mr McCreevy's comments coincided with an opinion poll this week 
showing 70 per cent of people do not want a Lisbon re-run, and that 
if it was held again 57 per cent would vote No.

He defended Mr Ganley, below, who he said was being unfairly targeted 
for running a better campaign.
"I don't get that excited about Mr Ganley. We live in a democracy," 
he said.
"Mr Ganley decided that he was going to front a campaign to get the 
Irish people to vote No.
"He was singularly successful against the might of all the political 
parties in Ireland.
"He won the argument because the Irish people listened to him more 
than anybody else." Last May, McCreevy was famously accused of 
severely embarrassing the Government by claiming voters "would want 
to be insane to read the Lisbon Treaty".

When asked if he had any regrets about his public outburst he said: 
"Not one."
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IRISH INDEPENDENT    4.12.08
Ganley won Lisbon debate, says McCreevy

Aine Kerr Political Correspondent

LIBERTAS chief Declan Ganley outmanoeuvred all the political parties 
on the Lisbon Treaty campaign and won the argument, European 
Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has claimed.

In a veiled criticism of the tactics and performance of Fianna Fail 
and other pro-treaty parties, Mr McCreevy said the Libertas founder 
had been listened to more than anybody else and was "singularly 
successful" in getting people to vote 'No'.

"We live in a democracy. Mr Ganley decided that he was going to front 
a campaign to get the Irish people to vote 'No'. He was singularly 
successful in that against the might of all the political parties in 
Ireland," Mr McCreevy said in an interview with 'Hot Press' magazine 
to be published today.

"Against the might of practically all the established media and all 
of the representative politicians in Leinster House, bar a few. He 
won the argument because the Irish people listened to him more than 
anybody else."

The former finance minister also argued that if the only answer to 
the Lisbon Treaty was 'Yes', then there was "no point in putting the 
question to any of the other 26 countries.

Isolated
Amid suggestions that Ireland could be "isolated" following rejection 
of the Lisbon Treaty in June, Mr McCreevy said there was no provision 
in the existing treaties to isolate any country.

"There is no provision to throw out anybody, unless unanimously all 
the existing members of the club agreed to throw you out. And I doubt 
now, or in the future, any Irish Government is going to unanimously 
agree to throw themselves out," he said.

The referendum turnout also suggested that a "considerable segment" 
of the 53pc who voted were those who failed to vote in last year's 
general election, the European Commissioner said.
"So, therefore, people did take the issue very seriously. So, that 
has to be respected," he said.
Despite criticism of his claim that people would be "insane" to read 
the treaty document, Mr McCreevy said he had no regrets about his 
comments.

- AINE KERR