Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 116: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the plans he has with regard to the need to publicise the forthcoming referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty; the Government's plans towards creating an information campaign; if a decision has been taken on when the referendum is to be held; and when this is to occur. [3680/08]

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 117: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs when the Referendum Commission on the Lisbon Reform Treaty will be established; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3790/08]

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he has decided on a date for holding the referendum on the Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2471/08]

Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 142: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on the high rate of abstentions in the past two EU referenda; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3791/08]

Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs if a date has been agreed for a referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3794/08]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the proposed date of the referendum on the Lisbon Reform Treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4187/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 to 118, inclusive, 142, 145 and 235 together.

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. The timing of the referendum is currently under consideration by the Government. A number of points will have to be taken into consideration, including the timing of the legislation's passage through the Houses of the Oireachtas and the desired duration of the referendum campaign.

Under the Referendum Act, in the case of a constitutional referendum, the Referendum Commission can be established no earlier than the date on which the Referendum Bill is initiated in Dáil Éireann. It is the Government's intention to properly resource the Commission and to give it sufficient time to carry out its tasks. Preparatory work is already underway to ensure that 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 and 2.5 million booklets will be published.

The drafting work on the Referendum Bill is nearing completion and work on a White Paper on the Reform Treaty is ongoing. It is the aim of the Government to publish the White Paper in good time to inform the debate in the Oireachtas and in the referendum campaign.

Voter turnout is an issue for any referendum and there can be no room for complacency. The Nice Treaty referendum taught us a valuable lesson in this regard. A priority for the Government therefore is to inform the public about the Treaty and explain the issues at stake. A detailed guide to the Reform Treaty is expected to be published later this month. This will form part of the Government's information campaign, following both the publication of an information pamphlet in December and the setting up of a dedicated Reform Treaty website which, among other things, contains the full text of the Treaty.

Additionally, the National Forum on Europe will have an important role to play in promoting greater awareness of, and debate on, the Reform Treaty.