Kenny leaves open possibility of second referendum

Taoiseach Enda Kenny did not rule out the possibility of a second referendum on the fiscal treaty if it was rejected the first time.

Mr Kenny signed the treaty with the leaders of 24 other EU states and each country has until Jan 1, 2012, to ratify it. Ireland is the only one holding a referendum.

Pressed on whether voters would have only one bite of the cherry, he appeared to leave the question open.

“We have in mind a number of other referenda that must be held, two outside the constitutional convention — one on child protection and the other on the abolition of the Seanad. This will be on its own, so people will have no deviation from the focus of what they have to decide.”

The question hereto be asked will shorter than in the Lisbon Treaty vote as this is a much less complex issue, he said.

Yesterday, it emerged that the Troika is nearing consensus on helping Ireland reduce its €3.1bn a year bill to pay off €30bn in promissory notes used to bail out Anglo Irish Bank.

The IMF deputy mission chief to Ireland, Craig Beaumont, said: “It is still a work in progress but fundamentally the underlying process has attracted a lot of consensus.”

Being shut out of the EU bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), if the treaty was not passed, would make the country less attractive to investors, the Taoiseach said. Any potential investors would prefer to have the ESM available to them “like an insurance policy on your house that you may never have to use”, said Mr Kenny.

Ireland’s decision will not decide if the treaty applies across the EU. “This is not a veto referendum on the progress Europe is going to make, it will be a opportunity to cement our relationship with Europe for the future,” he said.

The Government may set a date for the vote next week but Mr Kenny said there would be time to consider the issues.

“I want people to have a very fulsome, very thorough and very open discussion on what is at stake here because it concerns our future... so people will focus on the answer to the question they must give — do I want to be part of the euro and the eurozone, do I want to keep the euro in the time ahead?

“When I look at the opportunities, it’s my view they will give a very strong endorsement.”