Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I do not anticipate that we will hold the referendum in that regard on the same day as the presidential election. I am a great believer that we should have separate referendums on separate issues. The Deputy has been very consistent and persistent on this matter. He is correct that for an innovative economy, we should do it. However, we need to prepare properly for when we decide to have a referendum. We have to do the homework and be in a position to convince people of the merits of the case. We should not spring it upon them as a surprise and have everyone asking questions with a week to go as to what it is about. As we know, you end up losing some of those types of referendums.

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