The Chairman of the Alliance for Europe, Ruairi Quinn TD, and the leader of the Socialist Party, Joe Higgins, were the keynote speakers at the National Forum On Europe in Dublin Castle on Thursday 15 May where debate centred on the implications in the Treaty for social policies. Two leading Irish socialists have taken very different positions on what they see as the effects of the Treaty of Lisbon on workers and communities. Mr Quinn, former leader of the Labour Party, argued that a Yes vote would be a giant leap towards a social Europe. He said that it offered the best of both worlds a successful economy which put the rights of the citizen at its heart. However, in his opening address to the Forum, The Socialist Party leader also disputed Mr Quinn s claim that the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is to be given legal status under the Treaty, would offer an unprecedented level of protection of citizens rights. For more information on the Forum on Europe, visit the Forum s website www.forumoneurope.ie. File Download (30:04 min / 20.7 MB)
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