'A Europe which works better is good for Ireland' BRIAN COWEN WRITES FOR.

THERE'S now less than two weeks before people go to vote in the referendum. A lot of people are asking why it matters.

'There are many reasons why we need a Yes vote but by far the most important is that Ireland needs a Europe that works.

The EU is the foundation on which we can create jobs and achieve economic recovery.

Over the weekend 180 very senior executives from around the world came to Dublin to talk about how best to move our economy forward.

Absolutely everyone insisted that Ireland being a positive member of the EU is vital.

Already two out of three of all Irish jobs rely on Europe, so we can't just sit back and act as if what happens in Europe doesn't matter to us.

But the reality is that many of the EU's rules are 50 years old and they don't allow Europe to tackle some of the big problems facing us today.

If you think Europe has been slow at times to respond to the global economic crisis you're right - and that's because the rules either won't let it act or block attempts to get fast action.

To give just one example, since the recession began last year the chairperson of the most important body in the EU has changed five times.

This would cause trouble in a local sports club, but in a major international body it can cause a lot of disruption just when you need stability.

The Lisbon Treaty will sort this out, as well as help the EU to work on our behalf on issues like securing reliable and affordable energy, saving the environment and tackling crossborder crime.

This sounds like common sense - and it is. That's why there are many groups out just making things up in order to try and get people to vote No.

Every single expert who has ever looked at the issue has confirmed that Lisbon will leave our minimum wage fully in place and can never change it.

Yet the posters are still there. The UK Independence Party has now joined in and is putting leaflets into every house which make extreme attacks on the EU. I believe that the readers of the Irish Daily Mirror and the Irish people in general are too intelligent to fall for these types of scare tactics. A Europe which works better is good for Ireland.

That's why 86% of all job creators are calling for a Yes vote and why the Congress of Trade Unions is also calling for a Yes. Yes is for jobs and investment, strong protection of workers and for Ireland's future.

Ireland and Europe work better together and that's what you'll get to vote on Friday October 2.

An Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, TD

CAPTION(S):

GOT HIS VOTE Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Dublin yesterday