O' Cuiv to be quizzed by Ahern

A member of the Government who voted "No" in the country’s shock referendum rejection of the European Union’s Treaty of Nice is to be quizzed by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

Junior minister Eamon O Cuiv, a grandson of former Irish President and Prime Minister Eamon de Valera, said he had voted against the treaty ‘‘as a citizen’’ because European bureaucrats were seeking too much power.

But he said that as minister be accepted Government policy.

Mr Ahern, who has underscored his own disappointment at the 54% referendum vote against the treaty, and has been embarrassed by the outcome, is to seek an undertaking from Mr O Cuiv that he will not publicly oppose any government policy.

A spokesman for the Government said it was a matter for Mr O Cuiv to reconcile his private concerns with his role as a minister.

Mr Ahern is spending the weekend contacting fellow European leaders for discussions about the consequences of the vote ahead of an EU summit near the end of next week.