Poll: Irish oppose EU Lisbon treaty

DUBLIN, Ireland, June 7 (UPI) -- An Irish poll suggests a plurality of adults in the country plan to vote against the European Union's Lisbon treaty Thursday.

The TNS/mrbi poll of 1,000 adults, conducted last Tuesday and Wednesday for The Irish Times, found 35 percent of respondents plan to vote no on the treaty, up from 18 percent three weeks ago, the EU Observer reported Friday.

The treaty would create the position of EU president, strengthen the EU Parliament and toughen majority rules in EU Council voting to avoid stalemates.

The poll also suggests the number of voters planning to approve the treaty has fallen 5 percentage points to 30 percent, with 28 percent still undecided and 7 percent planning to stay home on the voting day.

Thirty percent of those who said they plan to vote against the treaty cited not understanding the document or being unfamiliar with it as reasons. Those respondents are not alone -- Prime Minister Brian Cowen and other senior officials have admitted that they have not read the entire document and Deputy Prime Minister Mary Coughlan answered incorrectly when asked to relate the number of EU commissioners called for by the treaty.

A margin of error for the poll was not provided.