Libertas (lobby group)

Libertas (registered as "The Libertas Institute Limited") is a lobby group that successfully campaigned for a "no" vote to the 2008 referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon in Ireland.

History and organisation

Libertas was founded by UK born businessman Declan Ganley who currently resides in Galway, Republic of Ireland. Ganley's first mention of "Libertas" was in a paper "Constitutional Treaty; A Threat to Democracy and How to Avoid it"cite web
url= http://www.fpri.org/ww/0405.200312.ganley.euconstitution.html
title= Europe’s Constitutional Treaty: A Threat to Democracy and How to Avoid It
accessdate= 2008-05-30
accessdaymonth=
accessmonthday=
accessyear=
author= Declan J. Ganley
last= Ganley
first= Declan
authorlink=
coauthors=
date= December 2003
year= 2003
month= 12
format=
work=
publisher= Foreign Policy Research Institute
pages=
language=
doi=
archiveurl=
archivedate= ] that he wrote for an American think tank the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in December 2003.

On the 15 July, 2008, RTÉ News on Two, reported on Declan Ganley's comments at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.. where he stated that Libertas are intending running for the European elections in 2009.

Declan Ganley is the group chairman, Naoise Nunn was the Executive Director until his resignation on September 19th 2008; David Cochrane is the Campaign Director and John McGuirk was Communications Director until the end of the referendum cmpaign in June 2008. [cite web
url= http://www.libertas.org/content/view/81/88/
title= About Libertas
accessdate= 2008-06-01
publisher= Libertas Website]

Campaigning

On 12 March 2008, Libertas launched a campaign called "Facts, not politics" which advocated a No vote in the referendum on Lisbon Treaty. [cite news
url=http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0312/eulisbon.html
title=Anti-Lisbon treaty campaign is launched
work=RTÉ News
date=2008-06-15] Libertas stated that they expected to spend in the region of €1.5m on the campaign. [cite news
url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/treaty-camps-matching-each-other-in-836435m-splurge-on-poll-1375645.html
title=Treaty camps matching each other in €3.5m splurge on poll
work=Irish Independent
date=2008-03-12]

The "Sunday Business Post" reported that the group's efforts at projecting its warnings about the treaty in the media were "hugely successful". [cite journal
url=http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=32590-qqqx=1.asp
title=Irish Business News
journal=The Sunday Business Post
accessdate=2008-05-08
last=Leahy
first=Pat] Several politicians, including Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche, clashed with the group's campaign stance. [cite journal
url=http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/frontpage/2008/0429/1209420577794.html
title=Lisbon Treaty will not curb veto rights on tax, says commission
journal=The Irish Times
accessdate=2008-05-08
last=
first=]

According to the Centre for European Reform's Hugo Brady the campaign targeted wavering moderates, the most critical votes for the referendum. The organisation argued that the membership to the European Union had been beneficial for Ireland, but the Lisbon Treaty would end that process by lowering the country's political clout in Brussels decision-making and increasing its low corporate taxes [Brady, Hugo. 2008. "Will the Irish Guillotine Lisbon?". Centre for European Reform Briefing Note. http://www.cer.org.uk/pdf/bn_irish_ref_hb_4june08.pdf] .

Following the referendum Declan Ganley, founder of the Libertas, confirmed that Libertas was fundraising in order to run candidates in 2009 European Parliament elections throughout Europe [ [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0716/1216073118337.html Libertas may contest European elections - The Irish Times - Wed, Jul 16, 2008 ] ] .

Funding and controversy

Libertas is reported to be funded by private donations from Irish nationals. [http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0520/eulisbon.html RTÉ news - "Martin accuses Libertas over Cowen criticism" - Tuesday, 20 May 2008] ] Anonymous lobby funding of this type is legal under Irish law - although donations above a certain amount will have to be disclosed by the group after the referendum. According to the group, Ganley and his wife have already donated the maximum amount of €6,300.cite news
url=http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=33134-qqqx=1.asp
title=Libertas and its letters from Austria
work=The Sunday Business Post
date=2008-05-25] The other sources of Libertas funding have not yet been revealed.

Some analysts and politicians (including TD Lucinda Creighton) [ [http://www.finegael.ie/news/index.cfm/type/details/nkey/34157 FineGael.ie - Press Release - "Self Serving US Military Agenda of Messrs Ganley and McEvaddy"] ] [http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/needtoknow/2008/06/ireland_takes_the_eu_spotlight.html Washington Post.com - "Ireland Takes the EU Spotlight" - June 12 2008] ] questioned whether the Libertas leadership's close ties to US military interests [ [http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0520/1211232308995.html?via=mr Irish Times - "Most Libertas founders work for firm with military links" - Tuesday, May 20, 2008] ] [ [http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=33710-qqqx=1.asp Sunday Business Post - "Ganley business interests stretch far and wide" - 15 June 2008] ] were a motivating factor in the movement's "No" campaign. The fact that five of the seven members of Libertas are reportedly employees of Rivada Networks, which provides communications technology to the US military, [ [http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/breaking-news/ireland/article3717861.ece Belfast Telegraph - "Anti-Lisbon groups join forces to launch 'no' campaign" - Tuesday, May 20, 2008] ] led to some speculation as to the campaign drivers - including speculation that it was funded by US interests. [ [http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/man-who-says-no-1401277.html?r=RSS Irish Independent - "Man who says no" - Saturday June 07 2008] ] This speculation was further fuelled by comments in the US political establishment (including those by John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations) [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/2094840/John-Bolton-Lisbon-Treaty-will-undermine-democracy.html Daily Telegraph - "Lisbon Treaty will undermine democracy" - 9 June 2008] ] that the Lisbon Treaty was at odds with US and NATO interests.

Libertas representatives rejected the claims that it's founder's business interests (including US defence contracts worth a reported €200m) had any bearing on the group's goals. [ [http://examiner.ie/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=72616-qqqx=1.asp Irish Examiner - "Anti-Lisbon guru’s €200m US military deal" - Thursday, September 18, 2008] ] It further stated that its backers were "100% Irish" and motivated by Irish interests only, and that claims the lobby group was swayed by the business interests of its founders or partners were unsubstantiated and "shameful". [ [http://www.libertas.org/content/view/266/127/ Libertas.org - Press Release - "Creighton comments shameful"] ]

In separate interviews in September 2008, Ganley rejected claims that the group was actively engaged in political fundraising, [ [http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0906/1220629535706.html "Libertas chief denies political fundraising"] , "Irish Times"] but disclosed that he had given €200,000 of his own money towards Libertas' anti-Lisbon treaty campaign. [http://www.irishexaminer.ie/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=72699-qqqx=1.asp]

Related articles

*Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
*Treaty of Lisbon

References

External links

* [http://www.libertas.org/ Libertas homepage]