Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

I read a report in The Irish Times today which quotes an official as stating the European fiscal treaty was specifically crafted to minimise the prospect of a referendum in Ireland. The Taoiseach's line has been that if a referendum is necessary it will be held. He has told us repeatedly he has nothing to fear from a referendum. I put it to the Taoiseach that here we are looking at another example of his having one message for the domestic audience while he says something different at a European level. We saw this carry on in Davos and we see it again.

The Taoiseach tried to spoof the people by referring this treaty to the Attorney General. In reality what he has tried to create is a pre-cooked deal.

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