March 15, 2008 (LPAC)--The Sinn Fein party's agriculture spokesperson Martin Ferris is presently touring Ireland to mobilize for a "NO" in the mid-June referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. "We are outlining to the farming community and to rural Ireland why we believe that the Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for them," Ferris said at the start of the tour a week ago. "We have produced a leaflet which outlines five reasons why the Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for Farming and Rural Ireland."

"EU Agriculture policy has been bad for family farms. EU policy has led to the closure of the sugar beet industry. It is actively undermining the provision of vital services to rural communities, including post offices. EU policy has become synonymous with red tape and bureaucracy, and rural Ireland is feeling the symptoms of that.

"Farmers need to be aware that passing the Lisbon Treaty will strengthen (British) EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson's hand as he attempts to dilute trade barriers. In fact it will copperfasten such policies, allowing Mandelson to negotiate the future of the Irish beef industry with no recourse for Irish farmers. (Note that Mandelson is trying to prolong his term, to become a vice president of the new Lisbon EU structure, along with a president Tony Blair--ed.)

"Article 2 of the Lisbon Treaty gives the European Commission ‘exclusive competence’ over international trade agreements. Article 10 of the Treaty makes ‘the progressive abolition of restrictions on international trade’ a key aim of the EU. Article 188 states that decisions on international trade will be taken by qualified majority vote.

"Simply put, the Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for the farming community and for rural Ireland."