Whether it is good news or bad remains to be seen, but it certainly is interesting to see Taoiseach Enda Kenny (pictured above, left, with Mario Monti in Rome last week) telling the Dáil that his government intends to put the "fiscal compact" treaty to a referendum.

From the Irish Times, we learn that Kenny told the House that the Attorney General's advice was that "on balance", a referendum was required to ratify the treaty.

View full article here

All the major parties can be relied upon to campaign for a 'yes' vote - with the ruling FG being arguably the most pro-EU of the lot.
The only party with a consistent track record of campaigning against further EU integration is Sinn Fein and they will undoubtedly see this as an opportunity to establish themselves as the true opposition party.

The country have been watching the ritual humiliation of Greece, and that can swing people in either direction, depending on how likely they think a similar fate can be avoided. The doom mongers are already playing that card in the 'yes' campaign.

It will certainly be interesting from a lot of angles. The 'yes' campaign has only fear as a weapon now - all credibility has been lost with the bank guarantee, the bailout and loss of financial sovereignty. The 'no' campaign will need to sell an alternative to have any chance of success. Unilateral default? Departure from the Eurozone?
There is the potential for some radical political discussion.

I haven't seen a date for the vote yet - I'm sure they will want to hurry things along to minimize the risk of events in the rest of the PIGS overtaking them.

The wonder of the democratic form......



We the people ('ready') vote ('aim') ........NO ('BLAM').......


What kind of democracy do you boys think you're living in here???

Ireland, meet Iceland, think carefully.

Threw off British rule, then sold out to Brussels - when will the Irish people realise, it's not the British who are their main enemy [or Cromwell] - it is their own leaders and good grief - who let them down at every turn.

Soup kitchens doing brisk business in Dublin [soon to come to London no doubt] and the number of ordinary Irishmen and women in negative equity is enormous per capita [250,000+] - everything going great guns. Debts being paid down and banks gone out of business, property market still falling and unemployment through the roof and the diaspora of the Irish increasing once more....... but hell the EU love 'em, they're holding it together - for how much longer God only knows.

Referendum, go for it Ireland - at least you can tell 'em to fek off, even though it won't do you any good.

Here in Britain - we ain't even given that measly opportunity.

If the vote can not stop the treaty applying to Ireland what the hell is the point of having it? What games the political class like to play. The Gods of Olympus playing with the mortals.

I know lots of people who intend voting no. The turnout will likely be very low and I would hazard a guess that no voters are more likely to come out and vote. If sinn fein lurched towards the centre on economic policies they could do quite well out of this. As it stands they remain a bunch of Marxists.

I'm certainly not going to get excited. Apart from the opportunity to make South Park jokes, it seems very little else has changed ... or will change.

"Ministers insist that danger of No vote is remote"

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 62641.html

Even if the Irish voted no I still suspect they will not be cut off from EZ funding,the colleagues just cannot admit their pet project could fail in any way whatsover,as proven in the latest Greek debacle,if that mean bailouts in other guises they will just do it by hook or by crook....whatever it takes to keep the whole show rolling....they will just print as much money as it takes.

If you cant bail the sovereign bond market out you bail the national banks direct,if you cant bail the banks out out you go back to bailing the state as a whole,until the cavalry arrives,i.e the rest of the EZ membership under panic orders to get it sorted or else,and on and on it goes.

In the propaganda war, though, it doesn't stop the Irish politicians raising the spectre of bankruptcy, death of the first-born, plague and pestilence ... we can expect a full-spectrum attack here.

Without a doubt they will, it looks better if the turkeys vote for Christmas,again.

I wonder what the EU would like out of this? In many ways Ireland behaved recklessly and wasted their opportunity to reform via EU aid money. I'm sure the Irish people will vote YES on the basis that keeps them in the club and so the hand outs can continue. Others in the club may see in differently, put simply are the Irish a benefit or a burden. A bit like how to think of Greece really.

It is very difficult to break the status quo ... and there is the TINA conundrum. What is the alternative?

I keep reading that Ireland is the "poster boy" for EU austerity plans.The Irish have taken their medicine dutifully so far, despite major protestations at the last election and all sorts of threats to renogotiate the bailout.The colleagues would be loathe to lose such a shining example of EU policy working,and the Irish seem fatalistic about it too.

The fact that the EZ bankrupted their country seems to have not raised its head,the past government took all the blame for that,the EU does appear to be regarded as the rescuer here.

Scylla and Charybdis come to Dublin's fair port.

Hey, Paddy - the man said Home Rule, not Homer Rule!

Avoid Greeks bearing gifts. Indeed avoid all cuntinentals - they'll only bring you grief.


P.S. Doh!