The Yes side in the Lisbon Treaty said a Yes vote was a vote for jobs, but despite passing the referendum, Ireland has suffered rising unemployment and a return to emigration.
This is the view of the Galway branch of the People’s Movement and the group will be picketing the Labour Party’s public meeting on jobs at the Harbour Hotel from 7.30pm this evening.
“Exactly two years ago in June 2008 the Republic’s electorate emphatically rejected the Lisbon Treaty and Labour leader Eamon Gilmore declared on RTE’s 6 o’clock news that the ‘Lisbon Treaty is dead’,” said Frank Keoghan, secretary of the People’s Movement.
Mr Keoghan has accused Mr Gilmore of going “back on his word” on this by supporting a second referendum. He also accused the Labour leader of waging a “most dishonest campaign” by claiming that a vote for Lisbon meant “a vote for jobs”.
“Since the second referendum unemployment has risen to 13.7 per cent,” said Mr Keoghan. “Jobs are being lost at the rate of 1,481 per week and 89,000 are in long-term unemployment. Insolvencies are 25 per cent higher than this time last year. Emigration is back to haunt us.”
Mr Keoghan said the People’s Movement will host a peaceful protest before the Labour Party meeting.
Galway Sinn Féin has also been critical of the Yes side, asking why has unemployment risen since the Yes vote. Galway SF representative Martin Concannon said: “It is now obvious that the Yes campaigners were disingenuous with their promises of job opportunities and economic recovery.”
