Irish voters reject EU Treaty -- Stormont Watch

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Date Posted: Sat, Jun 14 2008, 11:15:59 PDT
Author: www.ia-pl.org
Subject: Irish voters reject EU Treaty

IRISH VOTERS REJECT LISBON TREATY
06/13/08 09:14 EST

The Lisbon Treaty is certain to be rejected by the Irish
people as counting of votes continues around the country
this evening.

The treaty is an attempt to reform Europe�s unwieldy
institutions, but a senior Irish official said this
afternoon that voters had rejected the treaty designed to
change the way the bloc governs itself and presents itself
to the world.

With only five of 43 constituencies left to declare a
result, the No vote is leading by 53.7 per cent to 46.3 per
cent. All but seven constituencies have rejected the treaty,
with a national running total of 656,228 voting in favor of
Lisbon and 761,207 votes against.

Tallies from early on in the count this morning showed the
No campaign appeared to be winning in most constituencies
across the State, with significant majorities emerging from
rural and urban working class areas in particular.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Michael Martin, who
is also director of Fianna Fail�s referendum campaign, said
there was a perceived lack of information on the treaty.

"People were on the doorstep were saying 'I still don't know
enough about this treaty'."

This was a "significant" factor, the Minister claimed. The
Minister said he was not blaming the Referendum Commission
but said there was a sense that the treaty "just didn't
register" and "lacked a clear tangible".

In his own constituency, Cork South Central, the treaty was
rejected by more than 55 per cent of the electorate there.

The Lisbon Treaty is 287 pages long and many voters have
complained that it is difficult to understand.

Irish Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs
�amon � Cu�v conceded defeat this morning for the treaty in
the constituency, Galway West, while Fine Gael leader Enda
Kenny also conceded defeat for the treaty in Mayo early on
in the count.

The founder of Libertas, Declan Ganley, who campaigned for a
No vote, said: "The Irish people have rejected the Lisbon
Treaty. "it is a great day for Irish democracy", he added.

"This is democracy in action . . . and Europe needs to
listen to the voice of the people," Mr Ganley said. He added
that the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, "has a mandate to go back
to Europe and do the best job possible".

By the time polls closed at 10pm last night, around 50 per
cent of the three million people registered to vote were
understood to have cast their ballots.

There is concern in other EU countries about the impact of
the decision by Irish voters, and the French and German
governments are expected to make a joint statement later
today once the Irish result is known.

Ireland was the only country to hold a referendum on the
Lisbon Treaty.

In France, senior officials insisted that, whatever the
Irish outcome, other European countries must continue their
procedures to approve the treaty.

"The most important thing is that the ratification process
must continue in the other countries and then we shall see
with the Irish what type of legal arrangement could be
found," Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French minister for European
affairs, said. He did not specify what form this legal
arrangement might take.

"We cannot take a country out of Europe that has been there
for 35 years," Mr. Jouyet added. "But we can find specific
means of cooperation."

The defeat will present France with a major headache as it
prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the
European Union for six months on July 1.

Ireland is the only country in the European Union to put the
pact to a referendum. The other member states are approving
it through their parliaments and 18 have backed it so far ,
but European Union rules require unanimous support for the
treaty to come into effect.

The Irish no vote reflected serious concerns among voters
over issues such as Ireland's traditional neutrality stance
and also the possible diminishment of Irish representation
and influence in the EU parliament.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said that the people have
expressed genuine concerns that need to be dealt with now in
a positive way.

He said that Ireland is still as much at the heart of Europe
as it has ever been but people want a social European Union.

Sinn Fein was the only Irish political party to campaign
against ratification of the Treaty.
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