The Irish people deserve an honest debate on this Treaty, we promise that our campaign will base all our arguments on the facts, and will reference all our statements.

We don’t believe in attacking people personally, but we have zero tolerance for anyone who lies to the Irish people in this campaign. When people make false statements, we will respond immediately with the truth.

LIE: Lisbon will give the EU the power to get rid of Ireland’s low corporation tax rate

TRUTH: Lisbon cannot and will not change corporation tax. It’s that simple.
One big concern for many of those who voted no to Lisbon last time was that voting yes would allow the European Union to force corporate tax hikes on Ireland. Ireland’s low corporation tax rate has been a huge driver of economic activity. Many of the no side were quick to draw a spurious line from Lisbon to tax hikes to economic doom and gloom. 
 
But, as with so many other issues, some members of the No side played a little fast and loose with the truth. The EU Commission’s own ‘Tax Policy Strategy’ specifically says “there is no need for an across the board harmonization of Member States’ tax systems” and that “Member States are free to choose the tax systems that they consider most appropriate and according to their preferences.” Taxation has always been, and remains, protected under EU treaties. Even with respect to indirect taxes (VAT, excise duties and so on), where the EU has set a minimum rate for years, Ireland retained its veto over any changes (Article 113 TFEU).

But might Lisbon change all this? Nope. The phrase ‘corporation tax’ does not even appear in the Lisbon Treaty. Neither does the phrase ‘corporate tax’, ‘capital tax’ or anything close to it. Lisbon has nothing to do with corporation tax. Still, just to make sure the message got across, the other EU countries gave us a legal guarantee that specifically says:“Nothing in the Treaty of Lisbon makes any change of any kind, for any Member State, to the extent or operation of the competence of the European Union in relation to taxation.”

The reason why it was possible to give a guarantee like this without amending the Treaty is simple: the Lisbon Treaty makes no provisions with respect to corporate taxation in the first place. The guarantee is designed to clarify that fact in plain, legally binding language. Read further down this page to find out why the guarantees are fully legally binding under international law.

The Referendum Commission has also explained why this is a lie. They have said that “Ireland’s policies on direct taxation cannot be changed by the EU unless there is unanimous agreement in the Council of Ministers. Ireland therefore has the power to veto any such change and the Lisbon Treaty does not change this. The European Council has stated that nothing in the Lisbon Treaty makes any change of any kind for any member state in relation to the powers of the EU in respect of taxation.”

And considering that our low rate of corporation tax is so vital to our economic competitiveness, why would IBEC be such strong supporters of a Yes to the Lisbon Treaty if they were at all concerned about the EU getting their hands on it?

Let’s get real here – Tax is our domain, our veto, and our choice. Vote Yes on October 2nd.

LIE: Articles 48 and 352 TEU are self-amending, so the Treaty can be amended without Ireland’s consent.

TRUTH: The text of the Treaty that we vote on will stand. Ireland will continue to decide major treaty changes by referendum. No change can be made to the Lisbon Treaty without the unanimous approval of all the heads of state and government of the EU, so Ireland will always have the power to veto any future amendments.

This procedure only applies to areas the EU already works on. If member states want to give the EU new powers they have to convene a Convention similar to that which drew up the Lisbon Treaty, and whose their decision would have to be voted on by us, the Irish people, in a referendum (Article 48.3).

If we don’t want a change to happen, it won’t.

LIE: Lisbon will mean more military spending.

TRUTH: Lisbon contains no obligation whatsoever to increase military spending. It contains a requirement to “undertake progressively to improve [member states'] military capabilities” (Article 42.3 TEU), however this is categorically not an obligation to spend more. It is aimed at more effective use of the money we currently spend, e.g. interoperability of equipment, prevention of duplication and joint tenders for equipment. This is important to save the lives of Irish soldiers and the civilians they try to protect on their peacekeeping operations, and to save money for the taxpayer.

LIE: A vote against Lisbon is a vote against the government, their handling of the economic crisis and Nama.

TRUTH: No matter how badly the government may have handled Ireland’s economy over the past few years, a no vote would seriously hinder Ireland’s ability to revive its economy, regardless of who is in power. What will actually help us out of this crisis is the creation of jobs, the attraction of foreign investment and coordination of member states’ responses to the crisis that passing Lisbon will bring.

All of the parties in the Dáil apart from Sinn Fein support Lisbon, so a vote against Lisbon would be a vote against the alternative government that 75% of the electorate desire (Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll).

As for Nama, it has absolutely no relation to Lisbon. Nama is just as likely to go ahead whether we vote yes or no.

LIE: The legal guarantees aren’t worth the paper that they are printed on.

TRUTH: The guarantees have the same legal status as an EU Treaty in international law. The 27 EU leaders have already stated that the guarantees are ‘legally binding and will take effect on the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon.’ If Ireland votes yes on October 2^nd, the guarantees will be registered at the UN and will immediately have the full force of International law. They will also be given the full force of EU law following the accession of either Iceland or Croatia to the EU. Ireland will have the ability to bring the Member

States of the EU can take a case to the International Court of Justice, if it feels that the guarantees have been broken.

LIE: Irish minimum wage will be reduced to €1.84 if Lisbon is passed.

THE TRUTH: The EU has not currently, nor will it under Lisbon, any power over the minimum wages of member states. Ireland’s minimum wage was set down in Irish law under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, and the EU can do nothing to change this. In fact Lisbon provides for even greater social protection than is currently guaranteed in EU law.

LIE: The Lisbon Treaty will reduce Ireland’s voting strength to 0.8% in the Council of Ministers.

THE TRUTH: Voting is carried out in a two-stage process. In the first stage, all states have one vote and 55% of Member States are needed to approve a draft law. In the second stage, votes are weighted according to population size however for a law to pass it must have the support of 65% of the population of the EU but no proposal can be forced through by a small number of large states if they don’t have wider support. Ireland still retains a veto over sensitive areas.

LIE: Lisbon removes Ireland’s right to a permanent EU Commissioner.

THE TRUTH: The Lisbon Treaty is THE ONLY WAY for every member states to keep a national Commissioner.

LIE: Irish farmers will be ‘milked dry’ by the Lisbon Treaty.

THE TRUTH: The Lisbon Treaty makes very few changes in the area of agriculture and fisheries. The only significant difference is that the European Parliament will now vote on the budget for the Common Agricultural Policy which means farmers will have a greater chance to influence decisions by lobbying their elected MEPs.

LIE: 95% of Europeans would vote no. Stand up for Europe.

THE TRUTH: Out of the countries that voted on the European Constitution 27million voted Yes as opposed to 23million who voted No. More importantly, the Lisbon Treaty referendum is not about the rest of Europe but about Ireland’s future. If we want to secure Irish jobs, get our economy back on track, increase the input of the Dáil into European legislation and keep our Commissioner, we need to vote Yes on October 2nd.

LIE: Unelected Brussels bureaucrats make up to 80% of laws.

THE TRUTH:EU law is democratically agreed by our elected representatives, and represents less than half the laws implemented in Ireland each year

See our Research

LIE: EU laws are made by unelected elites.

THE TRUTH: Every EU law has to be approved by either the people’s directly elected MEPs, and/or by the elected government representatives of the member states. That means no law can be passed without approval by your elected representatives. The Treaty increases the Parliament’s power further.

LIE: The EU wants to introduce conscription in Ireland.

THE TRUTH: There is no EU army, and there is no move toward conscription. Very few countries have conscription in their national armies, and many of them are phasing it out.Furthermore, close to one fifth of EU countries are neutral states, like Ireland.

We will be responding to lies as they happen here.