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Original poster

lisobon treaty: irish how do you plan to vote?others how would you vote if given the chance?

137 replies

mayorquimby · 01/10/2009 09:25

well?
i'm still up in the air,one of the undecideds. i feel the yes vote would probably be best for ireland and feel that the "vote no" side (libertas etc) are completely scare mongering in their campaign, but really want to vote no because i think this is one of the great attempts to circumvent the ideal of comon democracy hich was surely at the heart of the european experiment.

OP posts:
mspotatochip · 01/10/2009 22:20

aaah yes sorry he had thankfully slipped my mind. oirish characters on eastenders tend to annoy me. Remember that terrible episode set in the west somewhere!?? Sorry total sidetrack off to bed now

vote yes people seriously a coalition of sinn fein, libertas and ukip?

maryz · 01/10/2009 22:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

scaryteacher · 02/10/2009 09:11

What makes you think that Europe doesn't run smoothly? The treaty is just abrogating more power to the EU. Are your opt-outs cast in tablets of stone? I'd check very carefully, because there will be a way around it somewhere.

The EU is not run by the MEPs, but by the Euurocrats for whom none of us have ever cast a vote. EU law already supersedes some UK law, and where we have an opt-out like the working time directive, this is being changed. The same will will apply to your opt-outs in time.

The EU is an enormous gravy train, and some do very nicely out of it; money is wasted hand over fist. Last year an enormous sum was spent on showing a series of weird short films from member states in a specially designed pavilion in Brussels. How does that benefit you? Could that money not have been used elsewhere to prop up an ailing business or to help a rural economy? If the EU wasn't so profligate with money people might be more enthusiastic about it. Ireland might benefit more if there was less wasted in Brussels, and more spent on the member states.

As to motorways....I once travelled on a motorway built by EU funding in Bulgaria....it finished in the middle of nowhere and the money was acknowledged to have been bunged to the Bulgarian mafia in contracts.

Maggie34Behave · 02/10/2009 09:27

It's not 'abrogating' more power to the EU. It's making it run more efficiently with 27 member states rather than 15.

Our opt-outs, such as our stance on abortion, well, I'm Pro_choice anyway, so that opt out wasn't in my name, nor the names of my friends.

The EU might well be a gravy train, but with Irish translators earning over 100k a year to translate meaningless eu gubbins in English into meaningless eu gubbins in Irish, then I think it's fair to say that Ireland is on that train.

I look around me and I see a good network of roads that didn't exist before the eu gave us the money to pay for them.

Well, I'm off to the polling station now.

Sinn fein are a bunch of xenophobes. They want us to vote no because the UK and Germany want us to vote yes.

VintageGardenia · 02/10/2009 09:33

Was at polling station at 7.20 ! Wanted ds1 (11) to be able to vote with me before school. Have voted yes though to be honest am not vehement Yes campaign-type and cannot get rid of odd niggling doubt. Was the same last time, thinking have I done the right thing? But I think on balance it's the best thing for Ireland.

claudialyman · 02/10/2009 09:35

Most folk ive spoken to are still unsure how theyre voting and its not because of apathy. I think its going to go through this time. Initially after being asked to vote again the level of resentment at that mockery of democracy meant some people were very motivated to go out and vote no to "make a point"

But since then the state of the economy has become even more scary and the goverments utter lack of any sort of longterm plan is even scarier. They inspire so little confidence that they are actually motivating people to vote yes to lisbon. (i wish i thought this was a deliberate tactic on their part).

Playing on peoples fears worked for the no side last time but this time increasing fears about the state of the country have superseded other ones and i reckon we might be nervous enough to vote yes.

Also this time some issues have been adressed and the no campaign has scored an own goal with their level of scare tactics and the Apocalpse Now posters, so that they have weakened their own credibility.

claudialyman · 02/10/2009 09:37

incidentally i would vote yes purely on the basis of the racist propoganda the no side have been shoving in our lettterbox

Original poster
mayorquimby · 02/10/2009 11:27

still undecided,but veering towards yes as i know i's the result we need.
still can't come to terms with the way it's been handled which makes me really want to be able to vote no.
agree w/eeryone regards libertas/UKIP, having two disgusing parties going for the no vote will surely automatically make a lot of people vote yes.

OP posts:
BarbieLovesKen · 02/10/2009 16:52

Am going to vote in about an hour and have decided I definately will be voting yes, as will DH.

Out of curiousity, what appears to be general consensous with your own family and friends? - most of my extended family appear (very much so) yes voters. Same with the majority in work who have chosen to speak about it.

Am dying to see what way it seems to be going, seems very neck and neck..

Maggie34Behave · 02/10/2009 20:14

All of my friends and family are voting yes.

Any news in?! Any guesstimates?

Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 09:56

No it is then, 46/54.

what a waste of money this referendum was. what a depressing result.

daftpunk · 03/10/2009 10:22

think the yes vote has won maggie

Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 10:26

If only.

Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 10:29

:-(

RedLentil · 03/10/2009 10:30

RTE reporting a 65% yes vote, on the back of the tallies, Maggie.

Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 10:31

NO way!?!?!? That is good news!

I'm googling away here and didn't get that.

The children have commandeered the TV and are watching Dora.

daftpunk · 03/10/2009 10:31

watching BBCnews...early exit polls suggest the yes vote has won.....

Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 10:33

I hope that's right! will look on bbc now.

BloodRedTulips · 03/10/2009 11:42

rte news is saying the tallies so far are showing a 60:40 yes vote... thank god

count will be complete around 5pm but it's looking good.

elmofan · 03/10/2009 12:06

oh wont brian cowen be pleased

BloodRedTulips · 03/10/2009 12:42

elmofan... that's exactly the attitude that caused the trouble in the first place.

this vote has nothing to do with cowen or any of our national political disasters.... it was a vote on whether to accept an EU treaty.... who's in power here has nothing to do with it whatsoever, we would have had to vote even if home politics were healthy and voting no to protest the government was an ill thought out action by those who took it this time and last.

elmofan · 03/10/2009 12:56

bloodred - actually i voted yes yesterday because i know its for the greater good , but i dont agree with being asked to vote twice on the same treaty ,

atlantis · 03/10/2009 14:17

How can handing all your powers to Europe be good?

Didn't Ireland fight for the right to be Independent against the tyranny of Britain?

And now you have a new master.

Hmm let's hope the czechs and poles can hold out against the EU blackmail and do the rest of europe who see this EU tyranny for what it is and have not been given the vote.

Original poster
mayorquimby · 03/10/2009 14:34

don't think you can equate agreeing to join the eu and subsequently agreeing to hand over certain powers to the eu to the mass murdering british oppression.

OP posts:
Maggie34Behave · 03/10/2009 14:35

ha ha! that was the basis of Sinn Feins no vote campaign wasn't it!?!!?!?