Kenny urges joint party statement for Yes vote

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called on the leaders of Fianna Fáil and Labour to join with him in issuing a joint message urging people to vote Yes in the upcoming Lisbon Treaty referendum.

The call comes just days after Taoiseach Brian Cowen called on the main Opposition parties to intensify their efforts to secure a Yes vote.

On Sunday, the Taoiseach told reporters that he hoped other parties would "crank up their campaigns", following the publication of an opinion poll which showed that more Fianna Fáil supporters intended to vote Yes than those who supported Fine Gael and Labour.

Mr Cowen came in for heavy criticism from Opposition parties for his comments, which the Taoiseach later insisted were meant as words of encouragement.

Speaking this afternoon at the launch of the next phase of Fine Gael's billboard campaign in support of the Lisbon Treaty in Cork, Mr Kenny proposed that the leaders of the three main political parties should meet to issue a joint message to voters to vote Yes in the referendum.

"As the referendum campaign is now entering its final fortnight, I believe that the leaders of Fianna Fáil, the Labour Party and Fine Gael should meet and issue a joint appeal to voters to vote yes on 12th June. Such an event would send a strong message to the Irish people that the vast majority of their democratically elected representatives are united in our view that national interest is best served by a strong Yes vote," said Mr Kenny.

He added that he would be contacting Brian Cowen and the Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore over the coming days to seek their agreement on issuing a joint communique.

The Taoiseach and Mr Gilmore will be at Dundrum Town Centre this evening for a joint canvass in support of the referendum campaign.

Elsewhere, the Yes campagin got additional support today in the shape of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on European Affairs, which said it was coming out strongly in favour of the Lisbon Reform Treaty following soundings it has made in recent weeks throughout the country.

The all-Party Committee said it believes that the Treaty achieves its objectives of enhancing the efficiency, democratic legitimacy, transparency and accountability of the enlarged Union,

It said it also felt the Treaty would strengthen democratic control of the EU decision-making process by upgrading the role of national parliaments, while at the same time promoting the directly-elected European Parliament to the role of co-legislator with the Council of Ministers.

The Committee said it was satisfied that Ireland's position on neutrality and corporate taxation are secure, and that the opt-out/in arrangements the Government obtained in the criminal justice area will protect Ireland's legal system.

The Committee added that it was confident that unanimity will continue to be required for any future Treaty changes and that these will remain subject to ratification by each Member State in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

The chairman of the Committee, Bernard Durkan said: "The Committee came to these conclusions following six months of consultations with a variety of leading representational groups and members of the general public.

"We held meetings both in Leinster House and in various regional venues throughout the country. We listened to Yes Speakers and No Speakers. The only group that refused to meet us was Libertas."

"The Committee, while it can understand some of the concerns of the individual members of the public who attended its meetings, has not been impressed by the misrepresentations and deliberate distortions of various groups which are opposed to the Treaty and, in many cases, to the EU itself," he added.