Talk of new referendum 'premature'

Speculation about a second referendum to ratify the Lisbon Treaty has been dismissed as “premature” by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.

According to a report in today's Irish Times, Mr Martin said the Government would detail the mechanism of its analysis into the outcome of the recent referendum in the next few weeks.

Mr Martin said the outcome of the referendum posed a significant challenge

"Clearly our experience to date has been that we have been at the heart of it. We want to very much protect our position in that context. But without question, we are going to have to wait as we discover and determine our response over the next couple of months."

"We don't want to be left behind obviously. The result of the referendum is important, and the underlying reasons behind the results. But there is also the context of where we stand in terms of the European Union into the future," he said.

"We have the outcome of the referendum. It poses a very significant challenge to us. The road ahead is not going to be easy. I would not like anyone to think that 'X' or 'Y' is going to happen and then, slam dunk! That is not the way we see it."