We’re all being told by politicians and big business that we should vote Yes to Lisbon but can we trust them?

Could it be possible that on the economy, the Lisbon Treaty, and many other things, these people have either been hopelessly wrong, or have said one thing and done another?

On the economy

"We shouldn't be talking ourselves into a recession. The Irish economy has very strong fundamentals."
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, July 2008

"The most likely outcome for the housing market is a soft landing.”
Brian Cowen, April 2006

“We have a duty to tell first-time house buyers, young couples with no previous experience, that there is unbelievable value in the marketplace today. It will not last forever.”
Fianna Fáil Senator, Donie Cassidy, April 2008.
 

On failing to put Ireland first

“We are doing this in consultation with the European Central Bank.”
Brian Cowen on Nama

“The reality of EU fisheries councils is that you don’t get everything you want.”
Minister of State for Fisheries, Tony Killeen, February 2009. Official figures show that Ireland has lost €200 BILLION in fishing rights because of poor negotiations with the EU.

“In a union of 27 member states it is neither practical nor sensible to expect that every decision should be taken unanimously.”
Bertie Ahern, Irish Times, February 2008
 

Flip-flopping on the Lisbon Treaty

Then
“The Lisbon Treaty is dead.”
Eamon Gilmore, Labour Party leader, June 2008

Now
“The Labour Party will conduct its (pro) Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign like a ground war”
Eamon Gilmore, Labour Party leader, July 2009
 
Then
‘‘It seems that only in the European Union, Ireland and Zimbabwe you are forced to vote twice. The vote should be respected. It is the only democratic thing to do.”
Ryanair head, Micheal O’Leary, Sunday Business Post, October, 2008

Now
“If we don't campaign for a Yes vote, there's a danger that the treaty could be lost again. There's a danger that people could be complacent or vote against the treaty”.
Ryanair head, Micheal O’Leary, EU Observer, August 2008
 

Spoofing: Yes campaigners pretend not to represent politics or big business

Ireland for Europe is led by Pat Cox, a  former TD for the PDs, the party that became so unpopular they ceased to exist. He has happily drawn from the EU gravy train, being a former MEP, but now has a lucrative career as a lobbyist for big business to the EU. His lobbying firms – CAPA and European Integration Solutions – have refused to sign up to the EU’s own transparency register.

Not quite an independent campaigner then. Ireland for Europe are spending a fortune on a Yes campaign – but spokeswoman Brigid Laffen refuses to disclose their funding!

Olivia Buckley heads up We Belong, also campaigning for a Yes vote. She was a spin doctor for Bertie Ahern when he was telling the country he won all his money on the horses.
 

On immigration and the Nice Treaty

"It is a deliberate misrepresentation to suggest that tens of thousands will suddenly descend en masse on Ireland."
Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa Irish Times, August 2002
 
"I estimate that fewer than 2,000 will choose our distant shores each year."
Labour MEP Proinsias De Rossa, Irish Times, August 2002

"There is no reason to believe...... that large numbers of workers will wish to come"

Dick Roche, Irish Times Letters, July 2002

"Efforts have been made to foment fears that migrants from the new member states could flock to Ireland. This is not only unpleasant but plainly wrong."
Brian Cowen, Sunday Business Post, July 2002