Gilmore signals willingness to support second treaty vote

LABOUR leader Eamon Gilmore last night performed a significant U-turn by signalling he may support a yes vote in the second referendum.

Immediately after the result of the first referendum in June, Mr Gilmore said he believed the treaty was dead.

“It required 27 member states to ratify it and the Irish people have now declared that they do not want it ratified. I do not think there is any question of the treaty being put a second time to the people,” he said at the time.

But Mr Gilmore softened his position in subsequent months, aware of the difficulties his pro-European party would have in opposing the treaty.

And last night he said the Government’s progress in securing Ireland’s EU commissioner was “welcome”.

“Labour considers the proposal that each member state will retain the right to nominate an EU commissioner to be a significant change from the proposal which was voted on last June,” he added, in a clear signal that the party would be prepared to support a yes vote.

However, Mr Gilmore cautioned that more details were needed on the guarantees that the Government had achieved on neutrality, taxation and abortion, and that issues in relation to workers’ rights also had to be clarified.

“We have yet to see the content of the proposed guarantees dealing with a number of areas that emerged as matters of concern to Irish voters during the referendum campaign. Until we see the text of these it will not be possible to form a view on them.”

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin, the only Dáil party who campaigned against Lisbon, described the referendum re-run deal as an “exercise in smoke and mirrors”.

“The agreement of legally binding guarantees is an empty promise,” said SF MEP Mary Lou McDonald.

“Declarations are not worth the paper they are written on as they are not legally binding. Unless ‘protocols’ are secured and ratified by all member states, ‘guarantees’ as described by the Government are worthless.”

She said the Irish people had voted for a “better deal” and rightfully expected Taoiseach Brian Cowen to make that deal happen.

“Brian Cowen and Micheál Martin have failed to address the people’s concerns. They have failed to negotiate a better deal,” she said.