Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum is vital for economic stability.
Speaking in Dublin this morning, Mr Cowen said positive steps must be taken to find solutions for Ireland’s problems rather than just analysing the scale of them.
“A referendum Yes vote provides a huge momentum for the country I think, galvanising opinion behind moving forward,” he said.
“And I think we should never underestimate the importance that that can bring in terms of self-confidence at home and very importantly external confidence abroad by such a clear decision by the Irish people to go in a direction that’s constant with European Union development.”
Mr Cowen said the issue of abortion did not arise in relation to the treaty.
“The guarantees that have been obtained at European council last year are crystal clear in this regard,” he said.
“There is no intention nor pre-disposition nor interest by our colleagues in relation to in any way cutting across these fundamental ethical matters that are dealt with within the context of our own constitution.”
The Taoiseach also indicated that the report of the Commission on Taxation would be implemented in the long-term rather than the short term. He said he thought the immediate issue was that the public finance position was unsustainable.
