totally agree. As a disabled-ill woman I don’t feel like an Irish Citizen let alone a European one. After the IMF & TROIKA intrusion into Ireland not sure I want to be ‘part of Europe’. Being ‘heard’ is NOT the experience of disabled people. Period!

Why even bother asking the people to vote just go ahead and do what ever your going to do

What a completely ambiguous question. What does it mean? Is our voice heard where ? In Brussels at the Commission or at the Parliament ?
Does it mean that we are heard more or less than other Nations.
Odd sort of question really.

It does not matter Our voices are not going to be listened to anyway .

@Michael
He’s referring back to how our politicians behave when we say no. We get told to vote again, and vote right this time…

No its just a bad dream. Go back to sleep chicken.

Yes your voice is heard and as such they want to censor it.

if you want to have your voice heard you need a lobbyiest and a large corperation

Or just have a shitton money. Then you speak with the voice of angels to them demons in charge.

If you say No you will simply be asked again!

are u sure marc?

Could you repeat the question?

Mmmmmmm…what was the question again?….been busy saving the world and I forgot….

Well said AL K…
about time our negotiators developed the ability to play hardball !

Israel?

Seriously,
Adebayo

Israel is surrounded by Third World countries there is absolutely no comparison.

Because Israel kicks and screams at every turn, they have guns and take no nonsense! Ireland kicks and screams, when they touch the price of Alcohol and we re-elect the same morons!

@ Robert.

Fair enough.

Apologetic,
Adebayo

Israel is effectively a western (American) colony practicing a modern type of imperialism in the middle east.

Ireland prior to 1922. But this country has never been free, it went from the British Empire to the Vatican to the EU and finally all the way to hell in the last 5 years.

http://www.europeanmovement.ie/about/
We have been ruled by Pro EU superstate supporters since the 1950’s…Garrett Fitzgerald and his sons property empire(SherryFitzgerald) is founded on the idea of the freemarket and exploiting anything at all…they’ve taken everything…fish,bogs,trees,oil,gas,wind…they’ve turned us in to worker/slaves in our own nation…

“About European Movement Ireland
European Movement Ireland is an independent, not-for-profit, membership-based organisation working to develop the connection between Ireland and Europe.

Here at EM Ireland, we facilitate links between all sectors of Irish society and the EU by running a number of advocacy campaigns, education programmes, training courses, information briefings and networking events. We also produce clear and relevant reports and publications outlining key European issues and their impact on Ireland. From providing our corporate members with information and assistance on European funding channels and consultations, to offering our third-level members advice and guidance on career opportunities in the EU, we work to ensure transparency and engagement at all levels in Ireland’s relationship with Europe.

We work to ensure that European issues are discussed in Ireland in a reasoned, robust and fair manner. We aim to increase awareness and understanding of the issues affecting Irish citizens by providing factual information to individuals, public representatives, business and the media. Our goal is to provide an unbiased, independent voice on all elements of Ireland’s membership of, and relationship with, the EU.

At EM Ireland, we understand that in order to increase Irish engagement in Europe, Irish citizens must feel like they have the power to effect change. Communication between EU Institutions and EU citizens must be based on two-way dialogue and not simply top-down information provision. For this reason, at EM Ireland we use our unique position as a non-governmental organisation within a pan-European network to ensure that the concerns and opinions of our members are inputted at all levels of the EU system.

Fostering Irish engagement and participation in Europe is at the centre of EM Ireland’s goals. We work to ensure that, as Irish citizens and Europeans, we each take responsibility for the role we play in EU matters and for how we as a people, and as a country, engage with Europe.

HISTORY
Founded in 1954, European Movement Ireland is the oldest Irish organisation dealing with the EU, pre-dating Ireland’s membership of the Union in 1973 by almost twenty years.

Originally founded as the Irish Council of the European Movement in Dublin on 11 January 1954, the original objective of the organisation was to advocate for Irish membership of the European Economic Communities (EEC), as the EU was then known. This aim was achieved when Ireland formally joined the EEC in 1973.

Signing the Articles of Association that founded the Irish Council of the European Movement were seven pioneers of Ireland’s future in Europe: Denis Corboy, George J Colley, Declan Costello, Dr Garret Fitzgerald, Seán J Healy, Donal O’Sullivan, and Louis P F Smith.

Throughout the course of its history, this organisation has enjoyed the support and contributions of many of the country’s great political, legal and economic figures such as former Taoisigh Garret Fitzgerald and Jack Lynch, and former President Mary Robinson, amongst others.

They built the roads after we gifted them 200billion worth of fishing rites, tho they probably threw in a few magic beans to make up the difference!

and goldman lended us some money after we handed them the last of our pension reserve fund and some of us watched as weeks later goldman took over the handling of facebooks stocks as they poured our billions into Zuckerburg!!

Yeah, in return they got to dictate our policy, own our budget, and get bailed out to tune of billions, in return for a few million in structural loans. Riiiight…

Those are the EU representatives in town for the coronation of King Enda.

I would say bondholders but they’re probably not eu citizens, the elite dont need to be citizens of anywhere.

The Audi A6 crew? ;-)

this!!

Not sure who exactly you mean by ‘we’ Max ?

I suggest that if you are one of the 12% + Euro-zone without a job (25% + young persons without a job) or one of the majority of ordinary citizens, your ‘voice’ along with the rest of your interests count for nothing.

If by ‘we’ you mean one of the top few percent – bankers, corporate executives, property developers etc., plus their lackeys in the media & politics – then your voices & interests are being very well looked after.

Politicians & media owners/senior editors, most lawyers, senior public servants are the gatekeepers for this class of citizens.

If you are not one of this privileged group, you should be very concerned about the future, as humanity’s key resource & pollution limits begin to bear down without even a moment’s consideration by the ruling classes – their lives are not at risk, yours is.

it’s too big for us to matter. can’t understand why the Irish people want to be in Europe.

Chris
Do you think that the average German citizen is heard any more than an Irish person in Brussels?

excuse or excute my words: WTF!

Halts Maul Collins Sie pleb!

How could the voices of the Irish citizen be heard when they’re not even listening to Dame Enda & co…

Those things were done by yourselves under the auspices of the British.

Don’t mention the good things British have done, a Shinnerbots head might explode

British are Europeans

Not through choice.

And in this context Europeans refers to the EU.

Since these things were available prior to the EU …

If it weren’t for the EU the recent debates on abortion and the right to die would be about whether or not we should decriminalise homosexuality and the government would be consulting with the bishops for permission to talk about it.

the answer is here 1.25 mins in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkFTHoznY-U

Vere are your papers!!!!

i really doubt Obama is any different to the rest of them, some of the vids i’ve watched online of the fallout from yanky drone attacks would have the strongest of people break down and tell the truth to the people no matter the repercussions from your bosses. if he can live and sleep with the $hit he signs off on he’s capable of anything in my view. I totally 100% agree with everything else in your post and we are the reason they think they can get away with it. we need a worldwide revolution so badly

YEAH I AGREE… a revolution is needed! Icelanders stopped complaining, they “threw out” the politicians and established a peoples movement. They totally rewrote the constituency where elitism is not allowed and stuff like that. The banks are in peoples hands and every 6 months the leadership changes and they dont allow people out of politics but from all kind of backgrounds. Its amazing… the mind has to change and then the world can change. Ireland is so spiritual, so intense and amazing…there is so much we can do (we even I am a foreigner but I love Ireland deeply) – lets stop talking and offer the hand to the person next to us! And I mean EVERYBODY not only the family, the cousins and relatives!!!!

Might have helped to give the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbMP-cy1INA

Parliament has huge power since Lisbon in nearly all areas. Of course there is no EU bailouts as such, so this is an intergovernmental area.

Nothing to do with having our own say, quite the contrary in fact. I agree with lots of EU measures but there will come a time when something truly repugnant to the people of our State is steamrolled through and we will be able to do nothing about it…

like a European Army…………………

That doesn’t change the fact that the EU is by its very natural undemocratic. Key discussions are made by commissioners and other civil servants who represent “us”, without ever being elected.

Good point Benn but thats the old EU. Somewhere in the last decade things went wrong & the EU has destroyed some democracies in Europe & has brought about the rise in right wing politics with its own lack of democracy & accountability.

Ben are you for real? food safety haha pigs in Belgium being feed waste from pharma plants in Ireland, BSE as a result of feeding cattle with bits of other cattle and animals. GM crops which are still thought to be unsafe the dont know but still the allow them to be fed to us. these are just the major ones do a bit of research and see what modern food is . Japan, the are working on making burgers out of humn waste as the found there is enzymes and protein still in the waste so the found a way of seperating it and making a solid item which the stuck in a bundy and got some people to try it. yeah food is way safer now!!!
Civil rights??? what part of totalitarian do you not understand? we voted made our decision and the wouldnt except it what does that tell you? these guys have control that Hitler and Stalin could only wish for.
a united states of europe is not what i want.but thats what the want and is the next step as expressed by the german ambassador to ireland on the matt copper show last summer.

@

I don’t think you quite understand what “right-wing” actually means.

Theres more welfarism now than before, that’s not something that the “right-wing” advocate.

How about calling in totalitarian or fascist? “Right-wing” has been muddled so much that no one knows what you are talking about

Hey Benn do you want to with draw your statement now ? I presume you heard the latest cock up horse burgers??

ask any farmer about europe and the will tell you the want to work their land and grow as much as the can but the eu wont allow that. The tell us the world cant sustain the population yet millions of acres lie idle including europe. CAP well farmes think its CRAP.
roads ? come down my way and see roads full of potholes,the come once a year to fill then in.
the euro??? is this the same euro that lies at the bottom of all europes woes? ask the greeks if the still want the euro!
Economic benefit? 400,000 on the dole plus the100,000′s gone. yeah explain that one to me.Maybe you think the amercian plants that employ the most are european?
Freedom of movement?? last time i visted france i had to have my passport so what freedom? at any time w hen it was the eec any one could still move to france or did you miss the fact that the irish were moving from the time of the famine. Flight of the earls comes to mind the went to france and done well no passport then.
We got some and gave more including the most prized of all our sovereignty!!! maybe people dont think that matters

I presume you have you expressed your dissatisfaction directly with the EU, for example, via here?

http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/contact_us/index_en.htm

Did you get a reply?

You mean the Euro that provided over-cheap money for the bubble? The Euro, that now means we cannot change our money rate? The Euro that nobody can leave?
Is this the economic benefit that now has us is crisis of which you speak?
… and we’re not part of the Schengen area, so afaik, we don’t *technically* have Freedom Of Movement.
They have helped deepened our crisis for us (admittedly supported by right wing parties like FF/Lab/FG/Greens ), and are helping us cede more budgetary power of to them.
Once they force Europe wide democracy on us, they will no doubt take pleasure in telling us that we are 1% of Europe and that our voice has been heard (but ignored)

neil i did register my dissatisfaction directly, along with the rest of the country in a treaty referendum but the wouldnt accept it.

@ Gordon Lucas ; we are actually part of Schengen but didn’t sign up for it all, it was decided by our wonderful nanny state to avoid the part allowing us to travel to a forward thinking progressive European country to get medicines not allowed here yet and take them back to Ireland without having to even declare it in customs here

Gearóid O Machain: we’re not part of Schengen as we opted out as did the UK. Saying we’re part of it but didn’t sign up for it is nonsensical. Opting out means we’re not in it.