Leader to Irish voters: Yes to EU treaty

DUBLIN -- Prime Minister Enda Kenny made a nationally televised appeal yesterday to Irish voters to support the European Union's fiscal treaty in a referendum this week, warning that rejection would send the signal that Ireland was not serious about tackling its deficits and was no longer a secure member of the euro currency.

Kenny said a "yes" verdict in Thursday's referendum was essential to ensure that Ireland could tap EU bailout funds in 2013, if necessary. Ireland's EU-International Monetary Fund loans are due to run out by the end of next year, and the treaty specifies that only ratified members can access future EU loans.

"A strong 'yes' vote will create the certainty and stability that our country needs to continue on the road to economic recovery. This treaty will not solve all of our problems, but it is one part of the solution," Kenny said in his 4-minute TV address to his debt-burdened nation of 4.5 million.

Ireland is the only nation among 25 signatories putting the deficit-fighting treaty to a national vote. Critics of the German-led push for austerity are hoping that Ireland's increasingly euro-skeptical voters will reject the pact.

Architects of the treaty ensured that an Irish "no" could not veto progress elsewhere, stipulating that it would require formal ratification from just 12 countries to become law in those countries.

Kenny said Ireland's exceptional reliance on foreign corporate investment also made the treaty's approval essential. Ireland's tepid return to economic growth over the past year has been driven by strong exports from about 950 high-tech multinationals, including 600 U.S. companies, with Irish operations.

Three opinion polls published in Sunday newspapers all registered a strong lead for the "yes" camp.