Cowen says Dail can pass parts of treaty without a referendum
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said last night the Lisbon Treaty cannot be passed in its entirety without a referendum.
It is possible for the Dail to pass some parts of the treaty without a public vote, and it is understood that Mr Cowen sees this course of action as an option.
It leaves the way open for a second controversial vote, but Mr Cowen refused to say if there would be one.
"The advice to Government was that a referendum was required. We put the usual, general question to people and it was rejected," he added.
The Taoiseach said any discussion at this stage about how the Government would proceed was just "speculation".
Mr Cowen and Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin spoke to some of their European counterparts about the Lisbon situation on the fringes of the emergency summit on the crisis in Georgia.
The Taoiseach said he told colleagues who asked about the situation that the Government was about to receive the results of the research on the referendum defeat and he would report back to the European Council in October.
Discussions
Mr Cowen also said that the Government was putting together plans for cross-party discussions on the future of the treaty.
Also yesterday, the head of the European Parliament said the Lisbon Treaty was important for building solidarity between EU member states.
EP President Hans-Gert Pottering called on all member states to ratify the treaty and said the crisis in Georgia showed why it was needed.
"Solidarity between the member states in the energy sphere is a principle laid down in the Lisbon Treaty.
"For this reason as well, it is particularly important that the Lisbon Treaty should be ratified as quickly as possible.
"The European Parliament calls upon all member states which have not yet ratified the treaty to do so as soon as possible.
"The events in Georgia dramatically underline the necessity of the treaty," he said.
Meanwhile, Declan Ganley, the head of the 'No' group Libertas, will meet with some MEPs in the European Parliament today.
Campaign
Mr Ganley is being described as "the leader of the 'No' to Lisbon campaign in the recent Irish referendum".
He is visiting the European Parliament to discuss why he and other Irish voters rejected the treaty and to propose alternatives. He will also be answering questions from MEPs.
Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle says the meeting is a further sign of Mr Ganley's future intentions becoming clearer.
"This is more evidence of Mr Ganley's networking and furthering connections on behalf of his political group Libertas in advance of the European elections next June," she said.
Ms Doyle also pointed out that the MEP who notified fellow parliamentarians of Mr Ganley's appearance is a leading British Eurosceptic.
- Fionnan Sheahan Political Editor in Brussels
