Brian Crowley (Letters, 23 August) states that "the key concerns as raised by the people during the last referendum have been addressed".

What he is saying is untrue. They have not been addressed at all. Last year the people of this state democratically rejected the treaty.

The EU and the Fianna Fáil-led administration here both refused to accept that democratic decision, just as they refused to accept the decision of
the peoples of the Netherlands and
France when they democratically rejected the identical EU Constitution back in 2005.

It is an attack on democratic principles that they have ignored last year's result and are once again forcing us to vote on exactly the same treaty.

Despite what Crowley tries to imply, this treaty is unchanged in any way whatosever. Not one word has been altered. No protocols have been added.

The 'legal guarantees' Crowley tells us they have secured are meaningless promises from discredited politicians and bureaucrats. They are no more legally binding than any politician's promise and do not take precedence over the treaty itself.

All of the reasons why Éirígí originally opposed the treaty remain within the document.

Ratification of the treaty would ensure increased militarisation and the further erosion of workers' rights, sovereignty and democracy.

For those reasons, we are actively campaigning against it and believe it will be defeated once again.

Daithí Mac An Mháistír,

Éirígí spokesperson on

the Lisbon Treaty