I’m sure the law lecturer from DCU and Sinn Fein’s legal advisors will be much better placed than the attorney general to decide on this…

I repeated what she said adding i hope she is right but does n’t mean she is

Fair enough, nothing wrong with what you said. Sorry about that. I moreso meant my comment about the Sinn Fein legal advice, just clumsily linked in the two.

Politician with a conscience? Paul, really…

lol, yeah, I know. sometimes I get so pissed off with this I can’t think straight.

This is like a twilight zone nightmare. If the AG passes it with the need for a Referendum and those puppets in Gov ignore the importune of the people of Ireland (not EU) there will be feet on the streets. Sadly it will all be too late by then. :’(

At this stage I doubt anyone will be on the streets, except maybe when they’re kicked out of their homes for not paying their mortgage maybe.

Hate to see what your comment would look like if you were a cynic.

Tis the politicians who are the cynics Norman. Manipulative and dishonest to boot. Follow th news. Read the history…

Well, maybe if the bastards did what they told the people they were going to do: on telly , on the streets and on the doorsteps, then you’re point might be valid.
The gaping hole in your argument is that once their fat rosy arses had settled into their chairs at the cabinet table , the first thing on the agenda was how they were going to sprinkle sugar on the dogshit that was the immediate volte-face that they did on any/all the commitments they had given.
People say that we should vote on the issue in isolation rather than taking the wider context into consideration. Well, in my opinion that’d all be fine and well provided the government that the people elected hadn’t turned around and pissed all over the mandate they had been given!!
If there is a referendum it may well get a terrible thumping. Perhaps if our spineless masters had gone and played hardball with Klaus and Pierre, our balls wouldn’t be nailed quite as tightly to the wall.
In that context the referendum may have stood a better chance than it does at present.

Sorry Liam, I have to disagree with you here.

At the start when I could vote, I was very pro-eu, but when it came to referendums, I, like the majority of the electorate who bothered to vote, took all the issues very seriously.

The people questioned Lisbon I and came away with the guarantees that were were uncertain about. Despite the Government of the day not debating the pro’s & cons of Lisbon, it was left to ourselves to decide, hence the people who did not understand voted No.

When it was put to the people again as Lisbon II, despite our assurances received from Lisbon I, the economies of the world had started the deep slide into financial chaos and it was Labour, Fine Gael, Fianna Fail & The Greens who told us to vote yes this time as we had the assurances but this time it was about the economy of the country, it was the yes to jobs campaign, it was the Be at the heart of Europe campaign, we were cautioned that if we voted for no for a 2nd time, there was a possibility we would be on the fringes of Europe, we would be isolated, there was even a chance we could be ejected from the EU. ALL this came from our own politicians, not the people.

But since they have been let down on many an occasion since Lisbon II, we ask more questions, we voted for change, we voted for open and honest politics, this has not been forthcoming either.

In the Red C poll 72% want the referendum, with 40% in favour, 36% against and 24% undecided.

To diss the electorate off as petty enough to stoop to bringing in septic tanks, household charges et al is quite disingenuous, as if the debate sinks to that level, I can guarantee it will be the Government itself bringing up those subjects at debates.

Also as a footnote, Ireland has rejected only 2 (Nice & Lisbon) treaties, until they were put to the people again and passed, so in theory, we have questioned referendums, stalled them until we got answers and then passed them.

It also gives the likes of the EU comission say over future budgets enforced austerity for the foreseeable future.Our deficit is over 8.5% this treaty would require a deficit of only .5% with fines kicking in if not achieved.

Another thing to consider – if you punish the government through a referendum and the EU does cut funding etc we will be left with the very gobshites in government to run us right into the ground, all by themselves. Can you see Kenny and Noonan having the nouse to pull us out of that sort of mess? Do you really think that would be better?

@dave. If we were given the opportunity to vote on a referendum they would ignore the result and make us vote again. We may be running out of parties but until someone represents us it is our duty to vote in a alternative government. Otherwise democracy does not exist.

We recieved funding under a treaty signed last year this new treaty does not make it null and void we will still recieve funding.But hey don’t let fact get in the way good old fashioned scare mongering.

Why is everyone of the opinion that no voters are out to punish the government, voting no to this referendum has serious, serious consequences for everyone in the country, and possibly the EU too. This is not something to be trifled with, and every time one of you “yes” people comes along saying don’t punish the government you’re implying that “no” people are idiots who can’t see past the noses on the end of their faces. We’ll we’re not.
Can I equally ask all you “yes” supporters to go out and do some research and make sure you’re doing the right thing by the Irish people and the future of the Irish people.
You need to look further than next week, maybe 10 years or more and consider the consequences of what’s happening at the moment.
There is no easy fix, so please snap out of that buzz that “no” voters don’t have legitimate concerns.

Frank i agree democracy is finished when this happened i am not sure long before this chain of events , these people that have the power in this country are criminals and the only way they will face justice if the streets run red with blood ,and judging by the way the people are out protesting and fighting for their rights these criminals will be passing the cigar box in their private clubs for a long time to come.

@Dave, not personal you understand! :-D