Maman Poulet

Today’s Wicklow Times is reporting that Senator Deirdre de Burca is packing her bags and heading for Brussels to work in the cabinet of Ireland’s new European Commissioner Maire Geoghegan-Quinn . Now you may remember the last time Senator de Burca hitched the parachute to her back and flew. This time she is going further afield.

I think it’s fair to say that Senator de Burca has few friends in the Wicklow Times or in Wicklow for that matter if you read the piece.

So another Seanad By-Election coming up? And a very nice €120k salary at a time when salaries here are being cut all round her? I suppose a green politician’s got to do what a green politician’s got a do given the poor poll results expected in 2012.

The Wicklow Times could be wrong but they were very much on the button the last time the Senator moved.

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While I was on holidays a work colleague texted me to say she had been canvassed by Cóir.  The canvasser told her that if Lisbon was passed that she would be put down like a dog. My colleague has cerebral palsy.  She didn’t argue back and managed to move away. I was shocked but not really surprised that the campaign had taken this course. People with disabilities have been targeted by Cóir and Youth Defence campaigners before in abortion campaigns telling us our right to life would be affected if Abortion was permitted but not able (not wanting) to talk about our lives and the rights we need to live them.

Living in Dublin City Centre it’s not difficult to find Cóir on the ground so I knew I would be able to try to explore it further – whether I got any answers would be another thing!.

So at the GPO yesterday it was not difficult to get a word with Brian T. Hickey a principle spokesman from Cóir.  He said that the canvasser should not have said tha tabout being put down but that it was possible that Euthanasia would be introduced because 2 EU countries have it and the European Court could rule that Ireland should have it too. He scrambled a bit as he introduced what I call the Cóir question mark – it might happen because Cóir say it might even if everyone else says it won’t.  Further questioned Hickey could not speak to the specific parts of the Lisbon Treaty that protect people with disabilities.  I was then approached by another Cóir campaigner who overheard me to say that I was lucky to be alive because the HSE were bringing doctors over to train doctors and nurses here in Euthanasia.  As another Cóir campaigner tried to put a sticker on my mobility scooter I backed away and revved up and took off as fast as I could.

On the basis of this and earlier rubbish about how the Treaty will lock up people with mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities I think we can say that ‘Sarah Palin Death panel‘ politics have arrived in Ireland.  Now I can hear my regular commenter Steve White and others saying already to stop criticising Cóir and talk about the treaty – so I will.  I don’t believe the EU is going to be killing off disabled people anytime soon.

Upon closer examination the Lisbon Treaty is very positive from a disability perspective. Specific references are made in the first article to respect of human dignity, human rights and equality and non-discrimination. Consultation with disabled people becomes enshrined in all processes – participatory democracy means that civil society and representative organisations will be consulted in all aspects of EU action. (Aside – It therefore is very important for organisations of disabled people to ensure that they are consulted rather than solely the organisations for people with disabilities and organisations which exist to provide services for people with disabilities.)

Mainstreaming of all areas of EU policy (Article 10) will include examination of the effects on people with disabilities.  (This exists for gender mainstreaming for some years already.)

In 2007 people with disabilities campaigned to sign 1 million signatures to call for the EU to broaden it’s anti-discrimination legislation and policy remit to specifically name people with disabilities. This campaign has influenced the development of the Citizens Initiative which means that other issues can be campaigned for by citizens (One million signatories) and can lead to the Commission bringing forward legislation if within the scope of the EU.

In the Charter for Fundamental Rights (the one that Cóir fear so much and some on the Yes and No sides say means not a lot and others say it means so much) we see Article 26  – Integration of persons with disabilities

The Union recognises and respects the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the community.

So  there we are empowerment, independence, with an added dose of ‘nothing about us without us’.  Why are Cóir so afraid it? Or Article 25 which protects older peoples rights to participate in society? The reality is that Cóir and other anti treaty groups don’t want protection of the rights of anyone by the European Union and it’s institutions.

I’d be ecstatic if there really was a debate about people with disabilities and the way we are protected or not in Irish society and in the European Union. Instead we continue to be patronised and manipulated and ignored. There is no disability movement to debate or lead calls for change and political parties use the language of oppression and care and cost to control our lives.

The arrival of the politics of the death panel to use disability and fear of being killed because of Lisbon is therefore unsurprising in the void that has been created in denying people with disabilities respect, autonomy and dignity. Something that Cóir would like to wish to continue because fundamentally they are against the rights of the individual in any sphere.

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I’m sure Ireland’s best chronicler of the activities of Chairman Ganley will be on to this soon enough. I got two texts early this morning directing me to the Irish Times and one asked why I was not in Roscommon at the weekend – like I’d be the most welcome guest at that table?

Libertas founder and chairman Declan Ganley spoke at a conference at the weekend regarding faith and public duty entitled  ‘Render Unto Caesar’ — Invitation to a Public Conference on Faith, Politics and Education.  The conference was organised by the John Paul II Society and cosponsored by Human Life International. The full programme is available here. Other speakers included Lucinda Creighton, Fine Gael TD and Senator Jim Walsh (Fianna Fáil) and independent Senator Ronan Mullen and Susan Phillips (Previously covered on Maman Poulet).

Chairman Ganley confirmed that plans were proceeding for the formation of Libertas in all member states of the EU – despite the best efforts of the Brussels elite who seemingly are out to get him.  But Saturday was playing to an audience who were not in a nobbling frame of mind.

This weekend in remarks specifically targetted for his audience he seems to be more open on the nature of his beliefs and their impact on his political ideology. (We’ve had a few hints on matters to do with the Chairman’s faith and stance on moral issues before.)  I know Libertas and political ideology were not easy bedfellows heretofore – maybe we are moving beyond ‘making it up as we go alongolgy’ or being vague when it suited him and nailing some colours to the mast.

He also assured delegates of his opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, referring to earlier opening remarks in which he quoted from Pope Benedict’s recent encyclicals, Deus Caritas Est and Spe Salvi , “with their message of God’s love”.

Reflecting on Ireland’s history he continued, “our faith and our rights are strong today because we have suffered the yoke of oppression . . . we grew stronger and we grew free”.

He queried whether “we have lost something” and noted the address of the pope at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome immediately prior to his election in April 2005. There, the pope criticised a “dictatorship of moral relativism . . . in a world where faith in God is seen as a threat”, Mr Ganley said.

He went on to criticise “a media obsessed with breaking down the domestic church . . . and the family” and reminded delegates that “the essence of our faith is that all life is sacred”. He concluded: “Yes we must, we must take risks for truth.”

In the later question-and-answer session, he said any guarantees given by the EU on social and ethical issues “were not worth the paper they are written on”, where the European Court of Justice was concerned.

He continued that: “the laws of the union have primacy over the laws of any member state . . . If there is a conflict, union law rules.”

He continued: “I have been called a liar, a murderer, an arms dealer, a CIA agent, a KGB agent – all of those things, all are filthy lies, but even if [such things were true] it doesn’t change the truth of what we are saying is in this treaty.”

So there you have it – Everyone is out to get him seemingly. It’s all made up. And everything is now a social and ethical issue all of a sudden so that it’s not about personal religious beliefs anymore – but spun as being broader in focus. And if they don’t get their way it’ll be a case of Christianophobia.

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You may remember that last year I was looking for recommendations for blogs about European Union affairs to read. Yesterday I read via Jon Worth’s blog of the launch of Bloggingportal.eu. It’s a blog syndicator but as opposed to a mere aggregator it has editors which rate posts and summarise them.

We don’t think the EU is a nasty conspiracy, nor do we love everything it does. So if we find something that’s within those rather wide paramaters, and we think it’s interesting, then we include it!

So who’s behind this?
The idea to embark on this project came from Jon Worth, long-time blogger about EU affairs. 2 posts at his Euroblog – reading Euroblogs, and Getting a grip of the European blogosphere – inspired the project.

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Jon Worth needs to be recognised for services to European Union blogging – he like I has been casting an eye towards Prague and the first two weeks of the Czech EU presidency.

It’s not been good – but maybe after President Klaus’s visit to Ireland late last year and that dinner with Chairman Ganley we knew there was going to be a bit of entertainment!

So in the past 15 days the Presidency has called Israel’s invasion of Gaza ‘a defensive’ measure – that statement was on behalf of the EU by the way and later retracted.

This week they launched an art installation marking the presidency which is offending a few member states! (Bulgaria is represented by a toilet, Poland has a gay flag being resisted by clerics (Brilliant – unless you are Polish!!), Ireland is a bog…you get the picture but it’s below for you to see in it’s glory.)

Today Jon has produced a series of images to help us mark the presidency’s gaffes according to level of gaffe as there are still five and a half months left. I suggest that such a device be used for all EU presidency’s and even for commissioners!

I thought I would make a small toolkit for EU bloggers – the Czech Presidency Gaffe-o-Meter, based on the idea of the Joe Biden Gaffe-o-Meter from the US elections. The idea is simple: when the Czech Presidency does something silly, you give the gaffe a score – 1 if it’s just stupid, 2 if it’s damaging, and 3 if it’s totally unacceptable

We will I’m betting be back to this in the next few weeks and I’m sure there will be accusations of bias towards accession states etc. Let’s see how it goes.

g

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While we’re busy watching the government nationalise a bank on our behalf you may not notice proposals announced today in London which will see the end of the common travel area. The Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill will see changes in citizenship rules including a requirement to speak English, and require those travelling into the UK from Ireland by plane or boat to formally show identification rather than a quick flick of the boarding pass as we’ve become used to.

Now it seems the Home Office knows that there will be one hell of a queue via their impact assessment. There are delays getting into Ireland as it is these days with blue flu out at Dublin Airport due to Gardai ‘not’ protesting. No passport controls will exist between Northern Ireland and the Republic however the legislation will introduce the ‘conduct [of] intelligence-led operations to check those entering via the land border in Northern Ireland and those arriving from the Crown dependencies.’

More from the Guardian

The legislation will bring to an end the common travel area between the republic and Britain, which dates back to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Apart from limited attempts to control the land border during and after the second world war the common travel area has been a free movement zone for more than 80 years.

Ministers say the proposal in the citizenship and immigration bill will “plug a critical gap” in Britain’s border security as they introduce the multibillion pound “electronic border” over the next five years. The programme will enable travellers to be checked against watch lists before they get on the plane or ferry.

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The European Commission think that Europe’s Kinder need to know about where they get their milk from and how animals should be minded!

So the Directorate General for Health and Consumers got someone to design a computer game for them complete with a scantily clad French female farmhand. Farmland – The Game looks like it cost a pretty cent or two?

What did we do to deserve Bérenice – pictured right?  Surely that’s not suitable Personal Protective Equipment she’s wearing? Not on her feet – look up her torso there a minute!

“Farmland” is an interactive and informative online computer game targeting children aged between 9 and 12, which also aims to help tomorrow’s consumers be in a position to make informed choices about the food they will be buying.”

9 to 12 year olds – starting the pervs young Commissioner Vassiliou?

h/t Jon Worth

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Back from Brussels where I took part in a press trip organised by the European Commission representation in Ireland.*

You’ll be reading a lot in the coming days about a Financial Stimulus package proposed by the European Commission after a request for same from the Council of Ministers last month. Details of the package on how the EU intends to save itself and individual member states from ruin were leaked yesterday and work is still going on – it seems it will be announced on Wednesday. However we were given information by the Secretary General of the European Commission, Irish woman Catherine Day, and President Barroso seems to be talking about it also.

The package will be all about the three T’s – ‘Timely, Targeted and Temporary’. It will include proposals for tax cuts, fast tracking of Structural Funds to stimulate growth, and a percentage of GDP (maybe 1% or maybe not) from member states. There will also be consideration of the budget deficit problems that Member states find themselves (a bit of slippage, sliding, etc. but not much more tolerance for that on the Irish side of the house and that’s where the T in Temporary might come in.) Whether cuts, savings or spending already proposed by governments (I’m thinking the ’subprime’ lending scheme in the budget last month) will be seen to contribute to the member state’s contributions remains to be seen.

Other messages of the day were ‘look at Iceland and the mess they are in’ and ‘Denmark who don’t have the Euro and have high interest rates’. I was aware that there is a lack of discourse in Ireland on the importance of the Euro to Ireland’s future financial stability – though I’m not sure who now will be doing the talking on that and would actually be listened to!

It was very interesting to hear spokesperson after spokesperson talk about the issues presented by Lisbon and Ireland’s non (or not yet) ratification. Lots of talk about the commissioner issue – how Ireland could have a commissioner if we voted yes – Lisbon might allow us to keep the Commissioner whereas when the Nice Treaty kicks in next year it actually decreases/limits the numbers of commissioners.

It might have been more useful to debate if having an Irish Commissioner is really of any use at all – the work of the Permanent Representative’s Office in Brussels seems to be more important in analysing how Irish interests are represented. 

Whilst our visit was taking place Sweden ratified the treaty – so that’s 24 down, Poland about to sign and 2 states left to ratify . I say not yet because it was clear that the Commission expect another vote, a different campaign and a different result.

There are far more pressing issues on the European Commission agenda in the coming months and while they are waiting for Brian Cowen to appear next month before them with the masterplan, time frame etc. there is a lot more going on. Climate Change and the afore mentioned Financial Stimulus/Economic Recovery plans and continuing EU unity on issues such as Georgia are those which take up most time and energy and they are not all waiting with anxiety on the Irish government and electorate to make up their minds again.

However I don’t think that Commission officials really grasp how unpopular/inept the Irish government is at the moment and how Lisbon is probably a non touchable issue in the months ahead. Competency of the Irish government and other actors on the issues and communicating them is something that I know a lot of bloggers have been talking about recently. (See Simon’s great post on the meeting with Margot Wallstrom last week. And thanks to Alexia for pointing out that Commissioner Wallstrom has blogged her thoughts on the visit also.)

We had briefings from spokespersons from the Economic and Finance Directorate, Agriculture, Institutional Communications. Lunch with Charlie McCreevy was jovial and ‘intimate’ and slightly surreal but off the record – actually there was no commentary on Ireland’s current situation financial or EU institutional issues at all. It was food blogger photo heaven but I’m not a food blogger…

The ghost of commissioners past also made an appearance at the beginning of our trip – Padraig Flynn was staying in the same hotel. No chance to ask him about the remaining houses or his thoughts on stimulus, governmental melt down or finance bill issues (such as will he have to pay a 3% levy!).

So that’s the initial impressions, more posts later from the trip including meanderings on explaining the European Union in the light of the the Oireachtas Sub-Committee on ‘How to solve the Lisbon problem’. I see Coir were throwing their rattles out of the pram yesterday – pity I missed it live. I hear the grumpy old men (Cullen, Hook and Dunphy) were also giving their views to the committee also. That committee has provided the most Oireachtas fun in ages – we should find another crisis for a subcommittee to solve! What you mean the banks are in meltdown, job losses through the roof….

* Full disclosure – the trip was paid for by the European Commission. Many thanks to them for arranging it and continuing to think of new media/citizen journalists in broadening the coverage and keeping us informed. Look out for that disclosure in the old media’s coverage…and send me the flying pig while you are at it!

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EU Commission Representation in Ireland: ‘Would you like to go on the next press trip to Brussels?’

Me: ‘Yes‘

So here I am spending the day in Brussels with some other bloggers and Irish Political Correspondents. There are lots of briefings planned and lunch with Ireland’s EU Commissioner.

More from ‘the day I met Charlie McCreevy’ and the reaction of pol corrs to bloggers entering the media scene later! I’ll be twittering from time to time too I expect!

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This is a new phrase I learnt which is in use by the European Movement referring to Ireland’s choices on EU membership at the moment. . (When I heard it first it gave me memories of school bus tours and wanting to …ok you know the song.)

The European Movement is a group which has recently reorganised and hosted an interview with EU Commission Vice President, Margot Wallström which I mentioned last week. I was invited to attend and along with a sprinkling of bloggers had a chance to speak with her after the interview in that bloggers huddle. 

An article in last week’s New York Times asked about the possibilities for a European Obama. Steven Erlanger meant in race terms and the article reflects on European differences in race, intercultural and multicultural politics.

When I think about an Obama type figure in Europe in these post Lisbon/pre Lisbon 2 or 1.5 my thoughts turned to a good communicator, someone who breaks through the mould, promises change and transparency and recognises people’s differences and fears in negotiating discourses on European Citizenship.

Last week whilst watching EU Commissioner Margot Wallström speak I wondered what happened to our European Union/Unity evangelists? Where did they disappear to? Ms Wallström was very impressive, and although I had heard of her before, I don’t think I had ever heard her speak and I doubt many in the general public would have a clue who she is.  At a national level in the evangelical scale we have had Dick Roche.  

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin is only getting into his stride, there is nobody in the Fine Gael or Labour sides of the house that I could point to being evangelical in their leadership on European Affairs. 

Deaglán de Bréadún (who still seems to really like the aul blogging!) wearily treads over the coals that are the reasons why Ireland does not like the EU so much and what has to be done….

There is very little interest in or commitment to the European ideal in this country for reasons one could well speculate about. Maybe it’s the fact that the South stayed out of the second World War and the people do not understand or appreciate the role of the EU in maintaining peace in Europe. Maybe it’s the education system. Even some of our senior politicians don’t seem to have a good grasp of how the EU works. Until we see people emerging on the Yes side who have the same zeal, commitment and singlemindedness as Declan Ganley and the Cóir activists – whatever one’s views of their politics –  the prospects for getting the Treaty passed will remain uncertain.

And with groups coming out with phrases like the above, and publications like this, Government Ministers saying ‘trust us’ and EU politicians and decision makers like Margot hiding their lights under bushels I can only agree at the moment!

Declan Ganley has spent the day on the airwaves and I have not heard anyone zealous, committed or singleminded who was able to counter or correct him.  There are large hints about us getting to keep our commissioner (more about that later in the week) but how is that going to make people feel any better about Ireland’s membership of the European Union?  Maybe when we find our evangelists they could ignore Mr. Ganley’s whining for a while and concentrate on making sure people understand membership of the European Union and what it really means. 

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