Rabbitte fears other issues will 'hijack' referendum

Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte said today that he hopes the referendum on the EU Fiscal Treaty is not "hijacked" by other issues.

Minister Rabbitte expects that some people will use the referendum to highlight other matters, which he describes as "incidental" to the treaty.

"I hope it will be conducted in a fashion where there will be reasonable, open and transparent debate and that it won't be hijacked by issues that are, important in themselves, but really are incidental when it comes to the significance of developments in the eurozone and us getting stability in the eurozone, so this economy can grow," he said.

The date for the vote has yet to be confirmed by the Government.