Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 280: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the date of the proposed referendum on the Lisbon reform treaty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10700/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has not yet decided on the precise date for the referendum. That said, I confidently expect that the referendum will take place in late May or early June. The Referendum Bill was initiated last Thursday, 6 March, and the Referendum Commission was established on the same day. The Houses of the Oireachtas will discuss the Bill after the Easter recess, and the Government looks forward to this detailed debate in the Dáil and the Seanad, as well, of course, as the ongoing debates in various fora, such as the Forum on Europe.