European Parliament chief in Dublin for Lisbon talks

The president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, is visiting Dublin today for a series of meeting that are set to be dominated by discussions on the Lisbon Treaty.

Mr Pottering is due to meet the Catholic Primate of All Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady, and Archbishop Diarmuid Martin during his trip to the capital.

He will hold talks with Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin and Senator Pascal Donoghue, who is chairman of the Oireachtas committee examining the fallout from Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.

The Government is due to brief EU leaders in Brussels in two weeks on how it plans to respond to last June's 'no' vote.

Most observers believe the Irish electorate will be asked to vote again on the treaty, with some declarations attached to address some of the concerns raised during the referendum debate.