Charlie McCreevy - Lisbon Treaty Ratification 2008

Lisbon Treaty Ratification 2008

Irish constitutional law requires a referendum to alter the constitution for such a major change as the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty. Interviewed beforehand, McCreevy said that he had not read the Treaty in full himself, though he understood and endorsed it:

"I don’t think there’s anybody in this room who has read it cover to cover. I don’t expect ordinary decent Irish people will be sitting down spending hours reading sections about sub-sections referring to other articles and sub-articles, but there is sufficient analysis done and people have put together a consolidated text which is quite easy to read ...Anyone who thinks that, as the reality and inevitability of EU enlargement has taken hold, that we can continue to tackle urgent problems without streamlining of the decision-making process is failing to face up to reality."

In the event, the referendum was held on 12 June and the Irish electorate did not approve the Treaty.

McCreevy was then heavily criticised in the European Parliament by the leader of the Socialist group in the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, who demanded on 17 June 2008 that Charlie McCreevy be removed from his post of EU commissioner. Schulz slightly misquoted Mr McCreevy, however, saying that he had contributed to Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty with remarks during the referendum campaign that no "sane person" would read the document.

"This man goes to Ireland and says he has not read the treaty and tells people there is no need to read it," Mr Schultz said during a heated debate on the referendum at the European parliament in Strasbourg today."

McCreevy was not alone in this; it was reported that Brian Cowen, the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) at the time, had not read all of the Treaty.