Gilmore softens stance on treaty vote

LABOUR left open the door to supporting a second Lisbon referendum last night.

Party leader Eamon Gilmore made it clear another vote on Ireland’s relationship with the EU was inevitable, but the wording would need to be debated.

What was seen a softening of the previous Labour line of opposing any attempt to re-run the divisive Lisbon campaign came as British foreign secretary David Miliband again insisted Ireland would not be “bullied” into action by the rest of the EU as he visited Dublin.

Mr Gilmore said it was time to address the general question of the country’s relationship with Europe and where it was going.

“Any change in the European Union treaties requires a referendum here. So there is obviously going to be another referendum at some point on a European issue.

“I think the question is, what question is to be put to people in that referendum? And I think that we would be more productively engaged if we addressed the general question of where the European Union is going, what our relationship with Europe is.

“I think we need to stop being fixated about Lisbon and about the treaty, and the referendum that we’ve had.

“The Labour Party has a very strong view that Ireland’s place is in Europe,” he said at the party’s parliamentary think-in.

Mr Gilmore said extensive research into why people voted the way they did on Lisbon would need to be assessed in detail before deciding on the way forward.

Mr Miliband said it was “striking” that 42% of people questioned said they voted no in the Irish Lisbon poll because of a lack of information or understanding.

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin said relations between the Republic and Britain were at an all-time high.

“Relations between our two countries have never been better and I think the co-operation — politically, economically, socially and culturally — owes much to the close contact between our two governments over the past 11 years of working together, building peace,” he said.

Mr Martin also thanked Mr Miliband for his “strong support” for Ireland within the EU following the Lisbon treaty referendum.

The Government has refused to be drawn on whether it will hold a second Lisbon poll, stating only that “all options” are being considered.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has indicated he will not have an action plan ready in time for the October meeting of EU heads of government, despite initial European hopes Ireland would vote again early and pass the treaty in time for next June’s European elections to be held under the new Lisbon weighting system. However, any new referendum is unlikely before autumn of next year at the earliest.