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THE IRISH PUBLIC will be asked to vote in the referendum on the Fiscal Compact on Thursday 31 May.
The date of the referendum was confirmed this afternoon after being decided upon at this morning’s cabinet meeting.
The date means campaigners will have 65 days to persuade the public to either accept or reject the treaty, which is due to take legal effect on 1 January next year.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, confirming the date, said the attorney general’s advice was to insert a new clause into the Irish constitution, between points 9 and 10 of Article 29.4, allowing the state to ratify the deal within certain parameters:
10° The State may ratify the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union done at Brussels on the 2nd day of March 2012. No provision of this Constitution invalidates laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by the State that are necessitated by the obligations of the State under that Treaty or prevents laws enacted, acts done or measures adopted by bodies competent under that Treaty from having the force of law in the State.
A bill leading to a referendum is being prepared and will be published at the end of the week, he added.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin asked the government to reconsider choosing Thursday as a polling date, saying many young people may be disenfranchised by their inability to leave college or other places and return home to cast their ballot.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said the matter of choosing a date must have been a difficult one for the government, given the efforts it had seemingly gone to to avoid the need for a referendum at all.
Speaking for the technical group, Joe Higgins welcomed the decision to hold a referendum in the first place, saying the debate on the treaty would underline its demands for “permanent austerity” on the part of European governments.
An opinion poll published at the weekend indicated that when undecided voters were discounted, the referendum was currently set to be passed by a margin of 60 per cent to 40 per cent.
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Has the Cookie Monster been in the cookie jar again ?
Very odd timing. They withdraw their support of this project not long after the sentencing of the doctor who helped locate Bin Laden. I’m not making accusations but it is funny.
But the accusations above that this money will be pumped into drones is ludicrous.
Great. Now they’ll redirect the $20m into more drones to attack the Pakistani population.
There’s hardly a peek about Americas secret war against Pakistan and the amount of civilians they’ve killed in comparison to
the coverage on Syria.
Don’t be a muppet
Think you may find that the drones you are referring to cost considerably more that $20 million.
Not true Derek. Guardian have been reporting the last few days on the increase of drone attacks in Pakistan and how they are blowing up *suspected* militants and everyone within a 100yd radius and then blowing up the funerals of the victims just in case their sons and daughters should harbour any resentment. Me suspects this tactic ain’t gonna work on the war on terror but if it does the guy who ordered it should get a Nobel peace prize. Oh wait…..
This episode was brought to you by the letters “U…S…A” and the numbers 9/11! you have gotta wonder is their “Oscar” an old green grouch or….a child who lives in a landfill and collects scrap for pennies?
Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Jihad Street…
Which if these kids is doing their own thing. 3 kids skipping, 1 with a bag pack.
I’m sure most US taxpayers will be disgusted the way their tax dollars are being wasted. PS Drone on, they’re killing a lot of VERY bad people with them so they then can’t kill us.
Kermit the pakki frog just does not sound or look right
Just ask the count, he’ll tell ye…
have your say