Minister urges education on referendum
People must be better informed about the European Constitution before the referendum is held, a junior minister said today.
Noel Treacy, Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, said Government officials were hard at work to ensure more people were informed of the key points of the constitution.
He claimed a new book ’The European Constitution Uncensored’, which was drawn up by EU Studies students at the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), would contribute greatly to the debate on the future of Ireland and the EU.
“The Government is acutely aware that people must be informed about the European Constitution and over the coming months will be working assiduously to ensure that awareness levels are greatly increased,” he said at the book’s launch.
“As Minister for European Affairs, I am greatly heartened by the fundamental thesis of this publication which argues that the more people are informed of the European Constitution, the more likely they are to vote in favour of it.”
All 25 EU countries must ratify the constitution for it to come into force - and Ireland is set to hold a referendum over the decision to adopt it. However, a date for the referendum has yet to be set.
Mr Treacy said the European Constitution seeks to improve and modernise the EU and Ireland had played a key role in shaping it.
He claimed: “We have every reason to endorse the EU Constitution, as the most democratic document yet produced in the long history of Europe.”
