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Lisbon Treaty Vote for Late September
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The second of a potential trio of votes, the Lisbon treaty referendum is provisionally pencilled in for late September according to today’s Irish Times. Micheal Martin is in Luxmbourg as part of the effort to get the Lisbon guarantees in place. The legislation for a referendum will pass the Dail before the summer recess it is hoped.
That immediately puts Lisbon on a better footing than the first time out, dogged as it was by Bertie’s bank accounts and inert government.
I wonder if we will finally get a true weekend voting day i.e. Sat or Sun. They really can’t play turnout games with this one.
I think it was always intended to have the legislation in place before the summer recess, by having the referendum in September in new. Maybe they think they could have Lisbon in place by October 1st?
Will be interesting to see whether the new Referendum Bill (see link) contains this provision from the abortive one allowing the Oireachtas and the govt to surrender the veto on Justice and Home Affairs without a referendum.
“13° The State may exercise the option to secure that the Protocol on
the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the 35
area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on the
European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
Union (formerly known as the Treaty establishing the European
Community) shall, in whole or in part, cease to apply to the State,
but any such exercise shall be subject to the prior approval of both 40
Houses of the Oireachtas.”
The link is to the text of the old bill (Twenty Eight Amendment to the Constitution Bill 2008). It is imperative to Irish sovereignty that this provision not be contained in the legislation for Lisbon II.