GATS (General Agreements on Trade and Services)

What does this mean for Ireland.

Do they automatically mean the privitisation of our pubic services such as healthcare and water supply.

Or does it actually mean that due to Ireland's position as a smei-private healthcare provider we are in risk of losing control of our healthcare system because of the system we have created.

It seems to me that we would only lose control of our public services because we would not be able to prove a position of multinational firms being seriously disturbing to the national organisation. Although these terms "seriously", "disturbing" and "the national organisation" have not been defined as of yet the risk of such action taking place lies solely with our own government who have been actively seeking to move the provision of our public services to private firms.

This leads me to question this argument against the Lisbon Treaty by the No-side. Does voting No remove this risk? I believe by removing the current government and installing one which is seeking to secure the complete revamping of the provision of public services is a better strategy.

Would voting No just remove our European wide involvement with joint public service provision agreements? I believe yes but we would still be left with parties in government and not, that wish to pursue identical policies here anyway.

Is this a question of fear in other European countries where public service provision is not under question, where governments are able to organise secure provision of the same public services which in Ireland are being delivered to sub-standard levels.

In my view this is not a valid reason to vote No but is of crucial importance to our future governance.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Agreement_on_Trade_in_Services

http://www.caeuc.org/index.php?q=node/222