Taoiseach announces referendum on Fiscal Compact

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have announced that the country is to have a referendum on the European Fiscal Compact Treaty.

The deal, reached by EU leaders, is the European Council's bid to save the euro and deal with the debt crisis.

It follows advice from the Attorney General Máire Whelan that the fiscal compact should be put to the people.

It is expected that the referendum campaign will start in the coming weeks, with a vote before the summer.