The Taoiseach said he could not say if the Government will hold another referendum on the Nice Treaty. The Government, said Mr Ahern, had indicated that there should be a period of reflection and that an announcement would be made at a certain stage in the process.

"I will not say Yes or No at this stage. On December 31st next, our colleagues will have made a decision on the report of Commissioner Verheugen regarding moving on the admission of 10 new member countries.

"That cannot be done if Nice is not ratified. Between now and then, we will have to deal with this issue. We have to deal with it in such a way that we get the best possible construction and agreement for this country." Asked by the Fine Gael leader, Mr Michael Noonan, if he was saying that there would be a second referendum, Mr Ahern replied: "I did not say whether there would be a referendum. I said that, between now and then, we should get ourselves into the best position." Earlier, Mr Noonan said people all over Europe were waiting for Ireland to ratify the treaty.

"We asked the Taoiseach about the treaty, and he told us it is being discussed at the Forum on Europe. When we asked him about the forum, he told us he could not answer questions because it is independent."

Mr Ahern said the deliberations at the forum were part of the overall process in which the State must engage following the result of the Nice referendum. "The debates are an important part of trying to deal with the fact that 54 per cent of those who voted opposed the treaty," he said.