Gilmore: No decision yet on need for treaty referendum

It is too early to decide whether Ireland will need to hold a referendum on the proposed new EU treaty, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said today.

Minister Gilmore told the Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs that a final draft of the treaty arrived overnight.

The draft could be subject to further changes however when it will be discussed by Finance Ministers next week, and by the full leaders summit the week after.

Minister Gilmore said that no decision on a referendum can be made until the document is finally signed off.

"It is only when a final text is available that it will be possible to reach a view on what will be required," he said.

"The test will be whether the proposed treaty is compatible with our constitution.

"As the Government has confirmed many times previously, the Attorney General will study the legal implications carefully, and will advise on what steps are necessary to enable Ireland to ratify."