Irish people want to vote on new EU treaty: poll

(DUBLIN) - Almost three-quarters of Irish voters believe there should be a referendum on a new fiscal pact treaty set to be agreed by EU leaders at a summit next week, according to a poll to be published Sunday.

Seventy-two percent believe Irish people should be asked to ratify any proposed treaty, according to the Sunday Business Post/Red C poll, with 21 percent against a vote and the rest undecided.

If there was a referendum, 40 percent said they would vote in favour of a treaty and 36 percent against.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said he would refer the final text of the pact to the attorney general for advice on whether a constitutional referendum is necessary.

Ireland has past form in sending shockwaves through EU capitals on treaty plans, having had to vote twice before it passed both the Nice and Lisbon accords -- two key EU founding treaties.

Next week's EU summit will discuss a new fiscal pact to reinforce budget discipline in a bid to restore market confidence in the 17-nation eurozone.

The last summit in December ended in a major split between Britain and the 26 other union members, with London refusing to sign on to a fiscal pact after failing to secure safeguards to protect its huge financial sector.

The Sunday Business Post said that ministers and officials "believe that the treaty will most likely not legally require a referendum if the current draft is agreed".

But political editor Pat Leahy wrote that a legal challenge by the republican socialist Sinn Fein party or other groups opposed to the treaty "is all but certain" if the government decides against holding a vote.

In November 2010, Ireland had to seek an 85-billion-euro ($112 billion) rescue package from the EU and the IMF when massive debt and deficit problems left it on the verge of collapse.

The opinion poll was taken last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday among more than 1,000 voters nationwide.