Lisbon White Paper Launched

The Government has today launched a White Paper detailing its plans for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

They said the document is designed to be accessible to the general reader and will facilitate serious and well-informed debate about the upcoming second vote in October.

The document will be widely distributed, including to public representatives, libraries, citizens' information centres and local authorities and will be available on request from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at the launch of the Government's White Paper on the Lisbon Treaty, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin (pictured) said: "Our intention is to enhance public information and awareness of both the Lisbon Treaty and the substantial package of legal guarantees and assurances which was secured by Ireland at last month's European Council."

Speaking today, Minister Martin set out the assurances granted in the last few months such as; Ireland keeping its Commissioner; remaining in control of our own tax rates; maintenance of military neutrality; no European army and no conscription and retention of policies governing the right to life, the family and education.

Mr Martin added that he recognised that voters had genuinely-held concerns about the Treaty and said the Government have worked hard over the past 12 months to identify, understand and accommodate those concerns.

"The Government believes that this Treaty is good for Ireland and good for Europe. Our task now is to bring our case before the people and to ask them, with our country's best interests at heart, to support the Treaty in a referendum later this year," the Minister said.

See: Second Lisbon Referendum For October

(DW/JM)