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...

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 ...

In an interview with yesterday’s Irish Independent, Irish Europe Minister Dick Roche said a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty is “the appropriate response” for Ireland. He said: "My personal view is that a referendum is the appropriate response to the position we are in.

A new poll by Irish company Red C, commissioned by Open Europe, has found that 71% of Irish voters are against a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, and that, of those who expressed an opinion, 62% would vote "no" That would mean the "no" lead would increase from 6 points in the recent referendum to a commanding 24 point lead in a second vote.

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" ...

I'd say the prospect of a second Irish referendum is over. The first serious poll of public opinion since last month's vote shows that the "No" side has increased its lead from 6 per cent to 24 per cent.The survey carried out by Red C on behalf of Open Europe, shows that 71 per cent of Irish voters oppose a second referendum, while only 24 per cent want one. Of those who express a preference, 62 p...

Europe Haggling over shape of second Irish referendum begins: - Labour leader backs vote on EU membership - Defence Minister opposes opt-out plan Several papers follow up yesterday’s leak of an EU briefing paper calling for a second referendum to deal with what it called the “Irish problem”.

Two months ago the Irish held a referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon, and we all now know how it ended. One of the elements in the run-up to that referendum was the Irish concern for their abortion laws. Not only are the Irish so old-fashioned that they have an abortion legislation that simply doesn't fit in the mind of most liberal journalists, those islanders were stupid enough to think that ...

The EU still holds out the hope of winning a second Irish referendum. At least they are pretending that they do, as they must realise that the national mood is swinging against the likelihood of that outcome. If the Irish vote a second time, and get the wrong answer, the EU will no doubt demand a Parliamentary-only ratification from Ireland, and simply ignore the referendum results.How that will p...

Still a lot going on with the fallout from the week's dramatic political events so here goes:Irish Referendum: The decisive rejection of the Lisbon Treaty has continued to reverberate through the blogsphere. On one side, the joy of the Euro-sceptics is tempered by the belief that the Irish will be forced to have a second referendum within a year. One blogger is of the view that the Irish will have...