Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Following its signature in Lisbon on 13 December 2007, member states are expected to ratify the reform treaty by 1 January 2009.

The Attorney General has advised that the legal effects of the reform treaty require amendment of the Constitution to enable ratification by Ireland. Under the Referendum Act, in the case of a constitutional referendum, the referendum commission can be established no later than the date on which the Referendum Bill is initiated in Dáil Éireann. It is the Government's intention to resource properly the commission and to give it sufficient time to carry out its tasks. Preparatory work is already under way to ensure the commission is in a position to undertake its work.

In this respect, the Government Supplies Agency recently published a notice inviting tenders for the supply of bilingual booklets by the referendum commission to inform the electorate about the reform treaty. While the work of the commission is entirely a matter for the commission, it is expected that between 2.4 million and 2.5 million booklets will be published.

The timing of the referendum is currently under consideration by the Government and the drafting work on the referendum Bill is at an advanced stage.

See this speech in context