Survey: Two thirds of farmers will back treaty

A TWO thirds majority of farmers will vote Yes in the Lisbon Treaty referendum, according to a Farmers Journal/Red C poll.

Of 1,000 farmers questioned, 71% said they will vote Yes, 14% will vote No and the remainder were undecided.

Support for the treaty was found to be strongest among older age groups and those working in he Leinster area, while support was at its lowest among the 18-24 year olds and those working in Ulster.

Fears about the economy were “the key driver” behind the support for a Yes vote, the poll found.

Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny predicted yesterday that the Lisbon Treaty referendum would be carried, but Farmers for No maintained the outcome of the October 2 poll would be very close.

The clash of forecasts occurred at the national ploughing championships in Athy, Co Kildare, where both sides in the debate are wooing thousand of rural voters attending the event.

Mr Kenny said that Ireland is not going to be thrown out of the European Union if the treaty is not carried in the referendum.

“But we will move ourselves by our own hand to a back room where we are distanced from the decisive decision-making process that is taking place and that is critical for this country’s future,” he said.

Mr Kenny said it was “perfectly obvious” that farmers were going through a very difficult time but a positive vote in the Lisbon referendum would ensure that Ireland would continue to play an integral part in Europe.

He said he believed that farmers recognise the potential that exists to renegotiate and protect the element of the Common Agricultural Policy that is available in the next round of reform that will take place.

But the Farmers for No Campaign said that to vote Yes would be a death knell to the beef industry in particular and Irish farming in general.