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 ...

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 ...

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...

The special sub-committee of the Irish Parliament, set up to evaluate the options for Ireland following its rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, reported yesterday. Interestingly, its recommendations to the Irish government focus on the option of re-running the Lisbon referendum, but on the assumption that the Irish government "would respond to concerns expressed during the referendum campaign". Such

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...

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.

Open Europe has launched a Twitter account. To keep up to date and follow our activities please click here: In the Irish Times, Roger Cole, Chair of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance in Ireland, argues that the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty “is not an Irish battle.

A roundup of links on the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland:Worries about taxationIrish Referendum commission websiteEU Ref has a blogpost about it

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" ...

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.