Met a very wise man in Cremully, Roscommon today. We were talking about how time goes so fast...and this wise sage quoted his father redney "in the words of my father, life is only a dream". I thought that was deep!

A Yes vote in the Stability Treaty referendum on May 31st will help secure Ireland’s future and the future of the Eurozone, according to Fianna Fáil Seanad Spokesperson on Europe Senator Terry Leyden.

Senator Leyden commented: "The vote on the referendum in three weeks time is extremely important for Ireland. It is not the cure to all our economic woes but it will definitely allow Ireland to have a more secure foundation for our future.

"Opponents of the treaty are deliberately misleading voters on the impact of a No vote for Ireland. They continue to falsely claim that if we vote No, Ireland will still have access to funding from Europe through the European Stability Mechanism should we need it. This is simply untrue.

"Ireland runs out of funding from Europe by the end of 2013. After that, we will need more money to fund our hospitals, gardaí, infrastructure, transport & social welfare. The only way we can guarantee additional funding from Europe through the ESM is by voting Yes. In fact, it is less likely that we will even need funding from Europe if we vote Yes. The markets are much more likely to have confidence in Ireland’s economic future and to lend to us at cheaper rates, if they know that we have the backing of Europe and the ESM should we need it.

"By voting Yes to this Treaty, we will be strengthening the controls to prevent large government deficits and rising debts. By voting Yes we are helping to restore confidence in Ireland’s future and the future of the Eurozone. By voting Yes we are saying to multinational companies that Ireland is a safe and attractive place to do business. By voting Yes, we will be providing Ireland with the financial backing to go back to the markets to fund our vital public services. The No side have been unable to explain where we will get the money we will need to run the country if the Treaty is rejected."