The Irish media reports that former Taoiseach John Bruton – now the EU’s Ambassador to the US – has called for a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. In an appearance at the newly formed Oireachtas Lisbon sub-committee he said that a re-run referendum needed to be preceded by a better information campaign, adding "It is fair to say that the Lisbon Treaty was written in such a ...

Asked if the Prime Minister would welcome a second referendum in Ireland and would it have any impact on a possible referendum in the UK, the PMS replied that as people knew, we had already ratified the Lisbon Treaty and had had an extensive parliamentary debate on the passage of the Lisbon Treaty Bill. Any decision that the Irish took on their own ratification process, was a matter for the Irish ...

There might just have been an argument to support the Lisbon Treaty (LT) in the 2008 Irish referendum, although I do not see it myself, but it is impossible to make a valid case to vote in favor of the LT in the forthcoming October 2009 referendum, as this second referendum in itself is a massive betrayal of the democratic will of the Irish people. At the 2008 referendum, which took place a year a...

Irish Times Political Editor Stephan Collins has an article in the paper arguing that "a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is doomed to almost certain defeat." He therefore suggests that the core of the Treaty should be passed through the Irish Parliament, with a far more limited referendum held on certain points of controversy: "If a referendum cannot be won, the only solution is for the D" ...

With domestic attention focused on the extraordinary David Davis affair we should not overlook what is happening on the other side of the Irish Sea. With counting still being completed it looks very much as though Irish voters have torpedoed the EU's Lisbon Treaty by voting "No" in their country's referendum. Irish justice minister Dermot Ahern sounded resigned to the inevitable when he said: "Bas...

As EU leaders anxiously await the second Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty this autumn, Irish Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said out loud what most had only admitted in private: the treaty would have been rejected in most countries had they followed Ireland's example and held a referendum on it.

Not sure how well this will translate if you don't know the characters, but it's a half decent analysis of what went wrong for the Taoiseach over the Treaty of Lisbon Referendum. And, well, it made me laugh (and a goodly chunk of the Irish Cabinet too, I understand), despite some non work safe language. Oh, did anyone mention Godwin's Law?

Irish PM admits second Lisbon referendum will be considered The Irish Independent reports that Taoiseach Brian Cowen has conceded the government will have to consider a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. He said: "I'm saying it's simply a matter the Government have to consider in due course.

The Irish Times reports on a poll released yesterday, conducted the day after the Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum, which has found that the majority of the Irish public are happy with the result of the Lisbon Treaty referendum, including one in 10 of those who voted Yes.

Last year, Ireland rejected the Lisbon Treaty which would extend the EU’s powers. It has demanded legally-binding amendments before the treaty is put to the people again in a second referendum this autumn. Irish approval is the last major obstacle to the treaty’s enactment. But EU governments had hoped to add Irish sweeteners to the treaty