Treaty voters ignored a ‘qualified’ adviser

IN the run-up to the Lisbon Treaty referendum, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny was castigated in the Dáil and told that he was not qualified to comment about the public disquiet that surrounded the disclosures at the Mahon Tribunal concerning the financial affairs of Bertie Ahern.

This inappropriate behaviour came from none other than Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

In the course of the referendum campaign that followed, the Taoiseach displayed an in-depth knowledge of what was and what was not contained in the Lisbon Treaty. Significantly, however, he confessed that he had not read the treaty in full.