Cowen attack on Sinn Féin backfires
BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN
The Nice referendum campaign cranked up several notches this week as Fianna Fáil dipped their toes into the debate. Their posters are going up and the party's government ministers are selling the Yes campaign with a two-pronged strategy of Ôthis is a treaty about generosity' and Ôlets attack Sinn Féin'.
Sinn Féin has ``a bunker mentality'', according to Dublin Foreign Affairs minister Brian Cowen. Sinn Féin was also, he said, against enlargement of the EU.
``Lets get real about the Treaty of Nice,, said Cowen. ``It has nothing to do with superstates, standing armies, nuclear weapons or building empires''.
In particular, Cowen attacked the view of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams at the launch of Sinn Féin's campaign that the CAP had harmed Irish agriculture. Sean MacManus, Sinn Féin's spokesperson on the EU, replied to Cowen's claims.
On the CAP, MacManus said, ``The Department of Agriculture's own strategy report 2010 predicts that by the end of the decade there might only be 20,000 commercial farms left in the 26 Counties. Does the government think that this is a success''?
``In 1998, the EU Court of Auditors report showed that 10% of 26-County farmers got over 66% of total CAP funds. CAP has been good for the business of farming, but has been bad for farmers and rural communities.''
These and other issues were taken up in a radio debate last Saturday, 12 May between Gerry Adams and Brian Cowen. Cowen did not respond to Adams' probing of who really benefited from the £24 billion of CAP funding.
Adams also highlighted simple issues like the fact that EU rules on employment are being used to prevent Irish oil workers being hired onto rigs drilling in Irish territorial waters. Again on this issue he was strangely silent.
When Cowen did get into his stride, it was to give a firm commitment to the Irish people that Fianna Fáil would only participate in military ventures that were under a UN mandate. Adams asked Cowen how this squared with Fianna Fáil's promise never to join into military alliances with states holding nuclear weapons, and with NATO-led organisations and that there would be a referendum on the issue.
Again Cowen was left to bluster. He did, though, ask repeatedly in his radio attack where in the Treaty does it make reference to defence issues. And earlier in the week Cowen's statement attacking Sinn Féin urged the party to ``read the text of the Treaty''. These are interesting requests as the Dublin Government has not supplied any printed copies of the full Treaty to the public or other political parties.
Its back to you Minister Cowen. Could this be another unfulfilled commitment?
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