The government may postpone the Nice Treaty referendum for a week, into early June, even if the expert group on foot-and-mouth advises it is safe to proceed.
A Government spokesman said yesterday that the requirement to put four pieces of legislation through the Oireachtas to allow four referendums on the same day might lead to a short postponement of the polls, due on May 31st. Such a postponement would be for about a week, he said.
The Cabinet yesterday resolved to keep open the option of a postponement until the autumn, the spokesman said.
The legislation to be put to the Oireachtas shortly is to allow for referendums to be held on the Nice Treaty; a new disciplinary system for judges; ratification of the International Criminal Court; and the deletion of constitutional references to the death penalty. Fine Gael yesterday called for the postponement of the Nice poll until the autumn, warning that the treaty might be lost if the poll took place in May.