Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Niall Carson/PA Wire

No second vote if Fiscal Compact referendum is rejected, says minister

“It’s just not going to happen this time around,” Minister Simon Coveney told TheJournal.ie.

MINISTER SIMON COVENEY has ruled out running a second referendum should the Irish electorate vote ‘no’ on the Fiscal Compact at the end of this month.

“I don’t see us asking the same question a second time, it’s just not going to happen this time around,” he told TheJournal.ie last night.

Coveney said that a second referendum was taken in the cases of the Lisbon and Nice Treaties because a unanimous decision was needed on those for the treaties to take effect.

“This only needs 12 countries for it to go forward and at the moment it has 25 if Ireland votes ‘yes’, and 24 if Ireland votes ‘no’, so it moves ahead without us,” he said.

“The problem is then that Ireland becomes isolated, we’re on our own,” he added. “Well, we’re in the same category as Britain and the Czech Republic. But if we do need to access the stability fund at the end of next year, we don’t have that option. That creates all sorts of uncertainty in terms of if we should need it, where would the money come from.”

“This is a hugely important vote at the end of this month,” the agriculture minister said.”But if people decide to vote no, we’ll have to accept that and deal with the consequences as the government, that’s our job, it’s a democratic decision.”

Yesterday, Finance Minister Micheal Noonan warned that a no vote would mean a more severe budget in December. Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, he said that Budget 2013 would be “dramatically more difficult” following a ‘no’ vote.

During the TV3 referendum debate last night, Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins accused the government of “wielding a big stick” over the electorate in threatening negative economic consequences in the case of a ‘no’ result.

Translated: The Fiscal Compact rewritten in layman’s terms >

AS IT HAPPENED: The Europe Debate with Vincent Browne on TV3 >

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
79 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tom Burke
    Favourite Tom Burke
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 11:48 AM

    What has become most apparent is that child abuse and subsequent inaction has crossed all spectrums of society.
    From schools, sports, care centres, healthcare, politics.

    Here we have 20 footballers who have come forward who wouldn’t come forward 1 month ago.
    When Jimmy Savile died one victim came forward. Within months we had hundreds.

    We must broaden our horizons and be vigilant however, must not become paranoid.

    Most people who work with children, are good people. Let’s not forget that.

    56
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Catherine Mill
    Favourite Catherine Mill
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 9:55 AM

    Bennell, who worked for Crewe, Manchester City and Stoke City, sexually abused young boys across three decades from the 1970s onwards.

    He was given a four-year sentence for raping a British boy during a football tour of Florida in 1994 and a nine-year sentence for 23 offences against six boys in England in 1998.

    He was jailed again in 2015 for abusing a boy at a football camp in Macclesfield, northwest England, in 1980.”

    When will judges learn that there is no cure for child rapists- Ever.?

    48
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Daisy Chainsaw
    Favourite Daisy Chainsaw
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 11:34 AM

    The independent reviewer’s first job will be to buy a rug. That’s what always happens when big business investigates itself for wrongdoing. Religions, TV stations, swimming coaches etc etc…

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute ACturnbull
    Favourite ACturnbull
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 1:24 PM

    Will people now give hell to soccer and abandon it like they did the Church? Unlikely. Such hypocrisy

    19
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tom Burke
    Favourite Tom Burke
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 4:02 PM

    ACturnbull

    You make a very point.
    There is a report in the media that one of the clubs paid one of the victims to stay quiet while the alleged abuser was allowed to continue coaching while others were asked to ‘keep an eye on him’.

    If this happened in the church there would be 200 posts slating them.

    9
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Dave O Keeffe
    Favourite Dave O Keeffe
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 7:04 PM

    Eh, that’s exactly what happened in the church, over and over again.

    1
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Paul
    Favourite Paul
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 12:56 PM

    Surely organisations shouldn’t be allowed to investigate themselves and it should be left to the police forces – I’ll never understand the leniency with sentences for these crimes. These people should be locked away forever.

    16
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mercurial One
    Favourite Mercurial One
    Report
    Nov 27th 2016, 6:21 PM

    “The FA is to investigate allegations of sex abuse in UK football”. I’m pretty sure that it will exhonerate itself from any official involvement in these allegations, same as it has always done in previous such investigations. Might as well ask the British royal family to investigate itself into any official involvement in the activities of notorious ‘royal titled’ paedo’s, I’d say?

    2
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds