The Fine Gael MEP Mary Banotti has claimed that ratification of the Nice treaty in Ireland is doomed to failure and that holding another referendum would be a futile exercise.
She told Our Europe Correspondent she personally supported the treaty and had been hoping to take a dynamic and active role in campaigning for its ratification.
However she believed the way the electorate voted in the general election, in particular the rise in support for the Green Party, Sinn Fein and Independents,and the size of the No vote in last year's referendum meant that the treaty will not be passed.
