Agreement reached on Lisbon assurances

An agreement has been reached in Brussels this morning that paves the way for Ireland to hold a second referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with the three hammering out a deal on the legal assurances that Ireland will get on the issues of abortion, tax and neutrality in return for holding another referendum on Lisbon.