Lisbon II - We must all understand the issues

The Taoiseach Brian Cowen informed the Dáil that the second referendum on the Lisbon treaty has been set for October 2. The Irish electorate rejected the treaty in June of last year by 53.4% to 46.6%.

Opponents of the treaty waged a spirited campaign on issues that did not form part of the treaty, but proponents failed to get those issues clarified at the time. Many of the backers had not even read the treaty that they were supporting.

As a result of the defeat of the referendum the Government secured commitments from partners in the European Union clarifying the issues that had been raised during the previous campaign. The recent EU summit agreed to address the concerns of Irish voters.