DUBLIN, Ireland, June 2 (UPI) -- Ireland should get better terms on its bank debt following the resounding vote in favor of the EU fiscal treaty, Prime Minister Enda Kenny said Friday.
Kenny said he discussed the issue with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, The Irish Times reported. He made a round of calls to leaders of the European Union and the larger member states.
"Without going into technicalities, yes, I did raise directly the issue with the chancellor," Kenny told reporters after the telephone call. "She and the other leaders to whom I spoke were very pleased to see that the Irish people, in a difficult situation where waves of anti-incumbent sentiment sweeps around the world, gave a very clear and a very decisive decision here."
The referendum passed with about 60 percent support. The Times said opposition was highest in urban working class areas.
The fiscal treaty requires countries who adopt it to cut budget deficits to no more than .5 percent of GDP. That is a significant burden for Ireland, where the 2011 deficit was more than 13 percent of GDP.
Merkel was happy with the vote.
"The referendum result strengthens the euro zone's joint course toward the creation of a new, lasting stability union," she said.
