Nice Treaty: Ahern under fire

Fine Gael leader Michael Noonan has verbally attacked the Taoiseach for refusing to answer questions in the Dáil about the Nice treaty and the Forum for Europe.

When asked about the rejection of the Nice Treaty, Bertie Ahern referred all questions to the Forum for Europe.

When asked about the forum, Mr Ahern said he couldn’t answer the questions because the forum is

independent of the Government.

Mr Noonan described the Taoiseach’s responses as ridiculous.

"People all over Europe are waiting for Ireland to ratify Nice," he said.