Taoiseach rules out postponing referendum

Enda Kenny ruled out postponing the EU treaty referendum because of a need to have an early vote and signal Ireland’s potential to foreign investors.

Pressure continued to mount for a delay after Germany’s decision to put off its ratification of the treaty.

But the Taoiseach gave a clear signal that voters will still go to the polls in three weeks.

“For Ireland, in a programme where investors are looking at Europe and Ireland now, they need to know with certainty about the Irish people’s decision.”

Berlin has decided to postpone the ratification of the treaty from May 25 until late June. German chancellor Angela Merkel faces pressure from her Socialist SPD opposition party to meet demands from François Hollande, the incoming French president, for a growth pact in addition to the treaty.

Socialists in the German parliament want measures to improve wages and boost the domestic economy in exchange for voting through the fiscal treaty, and the EU’s permanent bailout fund, the ESM. However, Ms Merkel said any growth through credit “would throw us back to the start of the [eurozone] crisis”.

Member states have until the end of the year to ratify the treaty, but Mr Kenny said an early yes vote would allow the Government to pursue a growth agenda in Europe.

Speaking in Dublin at the launch of Wayra, a multi-million euro start up scheme for technology entrepreneurs, he said: “What I need and what I want is a very strong yes vote that sets out that message of certainty and that allows Ireland to prepare for that agenda of growth.”

A special EU leaders meeting on May 23 will address calls for a growth pact and this will be followed by a series of meetings in June.

Independent MEP Marian Harkin told the European Parliament yesterday that there was a need for a delay in the vote due to rapidly increasing uncertainty in Europe. She said: “This is a clear signal that there may be some amendments or changes to the current treaty. Irish people cannot be expected to make an informed decision in those circumstances.”

Independent TD Shane Ross also said that the Irish vote needed to be deferred, pending the outcome of the emergency EU summit.

Sinn Féin, who want a no vote, called for the May 31 vote to go ahead and for the electorate to reject the treaty.

Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty called on the Government to outline “punitive” measures in the treaty where member states will be forced to reduce their debts. He said voters needed to know what changes would be made to taxation policy, the ownership of state assets and the delivery of public services due to debt rules.

He noted that member states failing to adhere to debt rules could face fines of €160m through the European Court of Justice.

Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin disagreed with this claim in a radio debate yesterday.

However, the independent referendum commission’s booklet states that member states do face fines “if a country fails to abide by the court’s [the ECJ] binding ruling,” which can amount to 0.1% of GDP.