UKIP is a political party that wants Britain to leave the European Union - UKIP does not have the interests of the Irish people at heart during this referendum campaign - Claims by UKIP that Ireland would be better off without the Euro currency do not stand up to scrutiny -


The three Fianna Fail MEPs Pat the Cope Gallagher, Brian Crowley and Liam Aylward have today responded to calls by UKIP for a No vote against the Lisbon Treaty on October 2nd next.



Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP today said that " the Irish people should be fully aware that UKIP is a political party that is seeking the complete withdrawal of Britain as a member of the European Union. It does not support the European Union project. When one considers this fact, it is clearly then the case that UKIP does not have the interests of the Irish people at heart during this Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign."



Brian Crowley MEP said that "claims by UKIP that the legal guarantees are worthless is simply incorrect.

The guarantees which have come about resulting from a decision of EU leaders on June 18th last are legally binding. This decision will be attached as a protocol to the next EU accession treaty. A protocol has the exact same legal effect as a clause contained within the Lisbon Treaty."



Liam Aylward MEP said that " the claims by UKIP that Ireland would be better off without the Euro do not stand up to scrutiny. Even during this very difficult economic period, the Eurozone has been a source of real stability. Moreover, the European Central Bank has provided serious financial backing for the Irish banking system in recent times.

Without the Eurozone, international currency speculators would simply have played one EU currency off the other over the past two years. They did this in 1992. At that time, this resulted in the devaluation of many European currencies, including the Irish punt, which was devalued by 10 % in 1992."



September 4th 2009.