Still chance of upset in Ireland

UKIP.Org ^ | Tuesda \y September 22, 2009 | Ukip staff

[JSDude1]

The 2,000 Irish employees of accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), while munching on their prawn sandwiches during a lazy lunchtime last week, received an email from senior management urging them to vote Yes in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum, writes Hermann Kelly.

While Ireland still has the benefit of the secret ballot it most certainly does not have the benefit of equal campaign funding for both sides.

Incidentally, not all Yes campaigning companies are canvassing the same way. Microsoft Ireland managing director Paul Rellis said his company’s public Yes position on the treaty was well known, and "you don’t have to tell people what you think". PwC clearly think you do.

A month ago, The Sunday Times reported that supporters of the Lisbon Treaty are set to outspend the No side by 10 to 1 in the referendum campaign. An estimate of the budgets for the Yes side indicates it will spend at least €2.4m, compared with the No campaigners' €270,000.

Two large firms, Intel and Ryanair have both said they will spend large amounts of money to campaign for a Yes vote. Incidentally, both firms have a lot to gain in keeping the EU Commission very sweet at this time. Intel to overturn a 1 billion-plus euro fine, and Ryanair - the permission to buy up Aer Lingus.

While large corporations such as Intel and Ryanair and others pump a huge amount of money into the Yes side, they help to dwarf the meagre spending of the No side which relies on the pennies of ordinary people. Although 53.4 per cent of the Irish voters voted No to Lisbon last year, all the major parties in Ireland are running on the Yes for Lisbon trail.

They are not alone - last week, a group of lobbyt firms in Brussels got together for a half-million euro whip around to campaign for a Yes vote in Ireland. It's progenitor, Brussels-based Eamon Bates wrote: “Personally, I do not think it was right to ask the Irish to vote again. However, now there is a re-run, I am convinced it would be wrong to allow a second No vote to occur."

In response to this less-than-altruistic venture by the 'Europe for Ireland' group, Chris Whitehouse, director of Whitehouse Consultancy, wrote: "The Irish electorate are likely to take a very dim view of commercial lobbyists entering the debate simply to protect their own profits, derived in part from lobbying the very institutions that would benefit most from a 'Yes' vote for the Treaty." Touché

[JSDude1]

For my UK and Irish Freeiends!

[Tax-chick]

Ireland Ping, y’all! Irish_Thatcherite will be one NO vote!

[aculeus]

Bump with a tip of the hat for Irish-Thatcherite.

[Rummenigge]

I still don’t get the point - why are we europeans paying millions to campaign for the right to buy irish debt ?

Let Ireland und England once and for all decide how they want to live their lifes and don’t waste my german money on their financial escapades.