The Fiscal Treaty Q&A

Q. The fiscal treaty has been accepted by the people. How does this change our Constitution?

A. Once 12 of the 17 eurozone countries ratify this treaty, the rules controlling budgets and debt levels will be enshrined into Irish law and a new subsection added to article 29.4 of the Constitution.

To a large extent this will simply enforce rules that were already in existence (but which have been flouted by many countries, including Germany).