mr president on the theme of the lisbon treaty my colleague has spoken about the increase in support among the irish electorate for the treaty but i would warn that one swallow does not make a summer
i think that must be taken against a background of a recent eurobarometer poll which shows that support for irish membership of the eu has dropped by ten percentage points from seventy-seven in the spring of two thousand and six to sixty-seven in the autumn of two thousand and eight
yes there is a job to be done to persuade the irish electorate about the positive benefits of the european union
that is why i would be concerned about those who want an earlier date for a second referendum in ireland
i believe that we need to be cautious we need to give time for the clarifications to be given on the issues of concern to the irish voters and we need time for those issues to be debated in full and in public and in due time allow the electorate to give their view
