Anti-treaty vote has 'massive price tag'

A VOTE against the Lisbon Treaty would carry a "massive price tag", sending a "worrying signalinto the board rooms" where decisions on foreign direct investment are made, Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche told a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce at Microsoft Ireland in Dublin yesterday. Mary Fitzgerald reports.

"If we were, by any chance, to reject this treaty, Ireland would not only create a major reversal for Europe but we would damage our own reputation, squander the goodwill we have built up painstakingly over the years in Europe, and by creating uncertainty send what Ibec has called 'a worrying signal into the boardrooms' where decisions on foreign direct investment are made, and for what?"

The Minister accused some No campaigners of claiming that the treaty would undermine Ireland's capacity to attract foreign direct investment. "This is both dangerous and untrueThe suggestion that we would have to accept something which damages our interests is simply false."

He said because Ireland was seen as fully committed to Europe it has been "immensely successful" in attracting foreign direct investment. "The idea that we can vote No for a better Yes, or that a No vote is cost-free are both very dangerous delusionsA No vote comes with a massive price tag."

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times