Cowen Refuses To Rule Out Referendum Re-Run

The Irish Taoiseach has said he can not rule out the possibility of a second Lisbon Treaty referendum.

Asked if there would be a second vote for the troubled charter, Mr Cowen said it was a matter he would have to consider.

However, the Taoiseach added the Government were not at that point in discussions yet, and were still analysing the outcome of the last referendum.

The prospect of a second vote on the European treaty has been growing since the French President Nikolas Sarkozy mooted the idea following the Treaty defeat in June.

Fine Fail's EU Affairs Minister sparked further controversy this week, following comments earlier this week that a second referendum would be necessary. After a barrage of criticism by opposition and anti Lisbon parties, the Minister, Dick Roche, defended his statement, although added his comments were "very much a personal view at this stage".

On Thursday it was revealed by a Denmark newspaper that senior Irish officials met Danish counterparts in Copenhagen to get advice on how Ireland could opt out of some Lisbon Treaty provisions in order to resolve the present impasse.

Denmark famously rejected the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 by referendum, but accepted it in a second vote the following year after securing opt out provisions for its electorate.

Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin said last month the Government had until December before it had to give the EU a plan on the way forward. However, Mr Roche said that all 26 other member states were likely to have ratified the treaty by the end of the year, which would leave Ireland in an isolated position.

(DW/JM)