Lisbon a bitter pill - but we must swallow it

There is just over a week to go before the Irish electorate returns to the polls to give its verdict - for a second time - on the Lisbon Treaty.It's an extremely fraught question, and a massive "No" campaign has been generated this time out, with considerably less to be heard from the Yes side - which does, let's not forget it, include all of Ireland's main political parties - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Labour and the Green Party.It is true that there is something scandalous about being told to go out and vote again - and "get it right this time" - but the fact of the matter is, this country does need a Yes vote. We need to be fully involved in Europe; we need to show our enthusiasm for the EU, we need to demonstrate our commitment - and we need to demonstrate our gratitude.That's what Europe wants of us.And if we don't give Europe what it wants, we are going to find ourselves in a rather chilly place indeed.At this stage, the contents of the Treaty are almost less relevant to us than the repercussions that may flow from voting against it.It's not something the No side would agree with, as they put up posters claiming the National Minimum Wage here will be slashed; and as they argue that our ability to determine our own tax rates - particularly our corporation tax - will go; that abortion will be brought in against our wishes; and that we will have a reduced say in European affairs.What matters most is that if we vote No, we will in fact have an even more seriously reduced say in European affairs, as our Euro colleagues won't be too happy to listen to the opinions of a people who have done so well out of Europe, but yet chosen not to take this step towards fuller integration.According to the Yes campaign, voting in favour of the Treaty won't really change the way Europe operates - but we will seriously lose out if we vote No. If the fears of what a No vote could mean for Ireland are strong enough to unite the political parties here, then it's clear, they fear significant repercussions if we fail to ratify the Treaty this time out.There is almost a sense this time out that the No side is pulling all sorts of frightening rabbits out of hats to persuade people of the evils of Europe. But what is certainly more frightening is the prospect of our being the only country in Europe getting the cold shoulder, as a result of our failure to go along with the majority.Since the last Lisbon vote, Ireland's economy took a serious nosedive - along with the economies of virtually every other country in the world.The reasons for Ireland's crash were, however, not purely down to the worldwide recession, but to our own specific circumstances, principally, our property boom.That said, while we're battling hard to get out of it, we cannot afford at this stage to thumb our nose at Europe: we may yet need more help from there to get us through.The repercussions of a No vote from this country could be immense, and the repercussions therefore for our struggling economy, even more immense.We may not fully like the taste of Lisbon: but it's a pill we've got to swallow.