The People Vs Dick Roche
In his most revealing interview yet, Dick Roche explains why he doesn't trust Libertas' Declan Ganley and shares his thoughts on the use of Shannon airport by US military.
Jason O'Toole, 23 Oct 2008
"Do you want to know why I’m so passionate about this?” asks Dick Roche, referring to the European Union and Ireland's contentious rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.
“It’s on the wall behind you. I’ll show you why.” He walks across his office to point out a framed black and white photograph. The picture is of some anxious-looking Jewish people being marched out of the Warsaw ghetto by Nazi soldiers. The Minister for European Affairs points to a small boy in the photograph and says: “That little boy is the exact double of my brother. I got this picture when I was about 12. Within two or three days, all of those people were dead.”
After a dramatic pause, the Wexford-born politician, the first Irish citizen to win a United Nations Human Rights Fellowship, continues.
“That was 65 years ago. Europe is a better place now. It’s not a perfect place – but it’s a fucking better place.”
The 61-year-old former UCD lecturer says that he gets “so uptight” when people complain about the red-tape associated with the EU.
“Yes, it can be annoying and irritating and it’s all of that,” he acknowledges. “But the people of Poland will never face that horror again. The people of all of Europe will never face that horror again.”
JASON O’TOOLE: Would you acknowledge that the government made fundamental errors in the Lisbon Treaty campaign?
DICK ROCHE: Yes. The biggest mistake was not engaging the Irish people early enough. The Irish people didn’t say, ‘No – we want to leave Europe!’ They had a whole variety of reasons for saying no. One was a lack of information. The other one is quite clear – people were given a distorted version of what the treaty is about. There were yarns spun to the Irish people about conscription, taxation, and abortion. Things that were untrue. That was mischievous. That was bamboozling the people. It was our responsibility to deal with that – and we didn’t. We have to admit that.
Surely one of the biggest problems with the Lisbon Treaty was the fact it was nearly incomprehensible?
Page 1/9 <Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next>
©Hot Press 2011. Why be a member? | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy