Eugene Regan (Fine Gael)

The UK constitutional structure is that sovereignty resides in the Crown through parliament. In the Irish constitutional set-up sovereignty resides with the people. This is the reason we are having a referendum in Ireland and the UK is not.

I say this because whether Tony Blair or Gordon Browne promised a referendum in the United Kingdom is a matter of domestic politics there. It is not an issue which should influence the referendum in Ireland. The reality is that even if the UK did hold a referendum it could be over-ridden given the principle of supremacy of the UK parliament. In Ireland, changes to the Constitution are decided by way of referendum. I say this because we have been subjected by the British press in Ireland to a barrage of criticism in respect of the Lisbon treaty, in particular in The Sunday Times by representatives of a UK-based organisation, Open Europe which is apparently linked to the UK Independence Party. I accept the right to free press. However, we should know from where these viewpoints are coming.