Serious Flaw in Referendum Spending Limits

www.caeuc.org

Same Treaty, Same Answer – No to Lisbon

UNITE Offices, 55-56 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1

Referendum Spending Limits

As a result of enquiries made by our office, the Standards in Public Office (SIPO) made clear (25 August 2009) that companies or individuals can spend as much as they like promoting their views on the Lisbon Treaty while campaign groups must adhere to strict limits on donations. This shows up a serious flaw in the SIPO legislation.

It enables vested interests from Ireland and abroad to spend millions attempting to influence how Irish people vote on 2nd October. In the past few days the US multinational Intel took out a full page ad in the Irish Times to promote a Yes vote. Intel’s move is designed to curry favour with the European Commission as it is currently facing a fine of over €1 billion under EU anti-trust legislation.

Intel should not be allowed to interfere in the referendum process, particularly for such cynical purposes. However, SIPO says it has been unable to do anything to prevent such interference. For the past five years it has requested that the Department of the Environment remedy the situation, to no avail.

We call on Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, to act immediately to restore balance and fairness in the Lisbon Treaty referendum campaign. There are a number of different mechanisms he could use, including statutory instruments, emergency legislation, the Companies’ Act or the Revenue Act.

Source: www.caeuc.org

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