TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny had a telephone conversation with British prime minister David Cameron last night amid growing concern about the impact on this country of Britain’s isolation in Europe.
Government sources said the two leaders conducted a review of events at last week’s EU summit at which Mr Cameron vetoed a plan for tighter fiscal rules across all 27 member states.
In a further development yesterday, Fianna Fáil joined the other Opposition groups in calling on the Government to commit itself to a referendum on any new treaty.
Mr Kenny and Mr Cameron spoke before the summit and last night’s conversation was the first opportunity for them to discuss the outcome.
A Government spokesman said the two men had a positive conversation. The Taoiseach reaffirmed the ongoing commitment to the political and economic ties between the two countries, and also expressed the wish for continued close cooperation in an EU context.
Given Britain’s status as Ireland’s leading trading partner there is concern in political circles at the impact of the rift on the economies of both countries.
Today, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will meet the British chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne in London. The meeting was arranged before the EU summit but the fallout from last week’s events in Brussels is likely to feature as the main topic of discussion.
Mr Kenny yesterday briefed Cabinet colleagues on the events of the summit and earlier he gave a briefing to Opposition parties.
Speaking after his briefing, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin called for a referendum and said there was no reason for the Government to wait before making a decision. He said he was surprised the Government was not prepared to give a commitment to hold a referendum.
“I did ask the Taoiseach why Ireland did not consider supporting the British view that there was no need for a new treaty and that what is being proposed could have been dealt with through changes to existing treaties,” Mr Martin said.
“Ireland is not best served by having one less ally in the discussions,” he said.
Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, whose party also wants a referendum on the treaty, said after the meeting with the Taoiseach that the deal on a new treaty was bad for Irish citizens and the citizens of the EU.
Kildare North Independent TD Catherine Murphy, who represented the Technical Group, said it appeared the focus of the summit had been on the euro and its sustainability and Ireland had already paid a very heavy price for that.
In the Dáil, Mr Kenny said he had raised the issue of Ireland’s particular concerns at the summit.
He was replying to a claim by Mr Adams that he had told the meeting of Opposition leaders he had not raised the issue of Ireland’s debt at the meeting.
He said there was a lot of technical and legal work to be carried out on the agreement reached at the summit. Only when a detailed analysis was made would it be possible to assess if it conformed to the Irish Constitution or whether we needed to hold a referendum.
The Taoiseach added that if the assessment was that a referendum was needed it would be held.