Engineers Ireland supports Lisbon

Red Alert

Well the council do anyway- they never asked sub paying members like me:

You will be fully aware that the upcoming Lisbon vote marks a critical moment that will have a huge impact on Ireland’s direction over the coming years.

Engineers Ireland does not normally take positions on political matters, but recognises that individuals may get involved in political campaigns on different sides. We see this as very much a personal choice and completely separate from the role Engineers Ireland usually plays with regard to its members.

However, given the importance of the upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty and the direct impact it will undoubtedly have on business certainty, the engineering profession and the economy at large, we believe that we should share with you the Council’s view that we are supportive of the Lisbon Treaty.

Ireland has always participated strongly in Europe and this has yielded us influence and benefits well in excess of our size. Even allowing for the current economic difficulties, Ireland would not have seen the dramatic expansion of our economy without our participation in the EU. Since we joined the EU we have contributed €21.2 billion and we have received € 62 billion, some of which has been invested in infrastructure.

As you know, the export sector is critical to Ireland. Ireland exports 80 per cent of everything it produces and 70 per cent of Irish exports go to Europe. Two out of every three jobs in Ireland relate to exports. The export sector is inextricably linked to the engineering industry. The EU is the world’s largest market. A ‘no’ vote on Lisbon would significantly undermine future growth possibilities for Ireland’s engineering sector. It would also bring uncertainty in terms of Ireland’s future which centres on involvement in the EU Economic Recovery Plan that has earmarked 45% of next year’s EU Budget for growth and employment measures.

FDI companies employ 150,000 people directly and 150,000 indirectly according to the Irish Exporters Association. Ireland hosts fifteen of the world’s top twenty five medical device companies and nine of the world’s top ten pharmaceutical companies. These organisations are huge employers of engineers and engineering expertise. With so many people on the live register, we must focus on maintaining an environment that meets their needs rather than creating uncertainty.

In relation to the substance of the Treaty, it is essentially about making changes to the way in which the EU is run and how it makes decisions. In addition, there are a number of assurances which have been given to Ireland from the European Council, covering specific areas which the Irish Government raised following the first referendum.
In light of legitimate concerns raised last year about the Lisbon Treaty, there are now firm legal guarantees on key issues.

These legal guarantees confirm that:
• Ireland will keep control of setting its own Tax rates

• Ireland will maintain its policy on neutrality

• The treaty will not affect the Irish position on a number of sensitive social issues, e.g. areas of the right to life, family, education, taxation, security and defence

• If the treaty is passed every country will have a Commissioner


In summary, the Council of Engineers Ireland having considered and discussed this at their Council meeting last Saturday unanimously agreed that they fervently believe that it is in the best interests of engineers, the engineering profession and Ireland that there is a strong positive vote in favour of the Lisbon Treaty on 2nd October. We therefore sincerely encourage you to cast a Yes vote.

Further detail on the content of the Treaty can be read on the Referendum Commission's website, http://www.lisbontreaty2009.ie/

John Power

Chartered Engineer
Director General
Engineers Ireland
Tel: 01-6651346
Email: [URL="javascript:webmailto('jpower@engineersireland.ie');"]jpower@engineersireland.ie[/URL]

Hasschu

Thank god, we now know that Irish engineers are rational human beings.

folan

Yeah, i saw this too. I'm not sure if im happy with them giving me advice on politics. I didnt join EI for this reason and dont feel it has a place in the organisation.

The

We see this as very much a personal choice and completely separate from the role Engineers Ireland usually plays with regard to its members.

part of the mail sums it up for me, but the rest of the mail seems to fly in the face of this.

And I'm sure other members on either side of the vote will agree with me.

godtabh

I generally dont read tosh like this.

Its amazing they can come out and back something like this but cant stand up to the goverment when they think we are living the life of reily

folan

have to agree, think its in poor form that they will advise us to take a stance on something political, but did a poor job of defending us in the political arena