YES side reaction:Taoiseach Brian Cowen said this evening the result of the Lisbon Treaty referendum had created "considerable uncertainty and a difficult situation".
Speaking during a press conference in Government Buildings Mr Cowen said the result was a “source of disappointment to my colleagues in Government and to me”.
“We have a duty to reflect on the implications of the vote to Ireland so we can move forward and to keep this country on the path to progress," Mr Cowen said.
“There is no quick fix, it will not be resolved easily,” he added. It is time to “pause and examine what has happened”, he added.
“I will be devoting my full political energies for finding a way forward for my country”. Mr Cowen said he would be meeting his European colleagues at the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Minister for Justice Brian Lenihan said Ireland had lost influence in Europe following the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the electorate. Speaking as final results were being counted this evening, Mr Lenihan thanked those who voted Yes but said he was “very, very disappointed” with the outcome.
“I think it is a very sad day for this country and for Europe as well,” Mr Lenihan said.
He said it was a “serious matter for Ireland” adding: “We have to accept the decision of the people…and that’s democracy and I accept that.
“Influence is very important in Europe. We had a lot of influence in Europe. I don’t believe this No vote assists our influence in Europe”, he added.
“I don’t think we are in a better position”.
He said the Treaty was “the result of very detailed discussions between 27 member states and the other 26 states will make their views known to us next week”.
Mr Lenihan had to abandon speaking to the media in the Dublin count centre in the RDS earlier today after No supporters heckled him.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin earlier blamed a perceived lack of information for the poor showing of the Yes vote. Asked where things went wrong, Mr Martin, director of Fianna Fáil’s referendum campaign, said: "People were on the doorstep were saying 'I still don't know enough about this treaty'."
This was a "significant" factor, the Minister claimed. The Minister said he was not blaming the Referendum Commission but said there was a sense that the treaty "just didn't register" and "lacked a clear tangible".
He added there was a "general sense of giving away too much power" and that there were lessons for Europe and Ireland in "reconnecting" with voters.
Referring to his own Cork constituency, Mr Martin said he would have liked a bigger voter turnout in certain areas. "The trends are not what we would have preferred."
Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said the "Lisbon Treaty is dead" and added thatthe concerns of the Irish electorate must nowbe addressed.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and the party’s MEP Jim Higgins are also conceded early on that the No campaign won in Mayo. The Mayo constituency returned a resounding 61.7 per cent for the No side against 38.3 for the Yes side.
Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche said: "There is a small number of constituencies where the tallies show the Yes will take it", but he accepted that "it doesn't look good for the treaty overall".
Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern said the referendum result appeared to be heading for a strong No vote "for a myriad of reasons".
Former president of the European Parliament Pat Cox said the future will be "difficult, messy and hard to figure out" but added: "that's life, that's democracy".
The outcome puts Ireland in "an odd position" vis-a-vis the rest of the world, he said.
"Here is a bloc that wants to lead the world but can't lead its own reform. And that's really not a great message between Europe and the rest of the world today. But this is life, this is democracy and we have to deal with it, including when it gets messy for leaders.
"The people here have spoken and I respect the democracy, even if I should have preferred a different outcome."
Speaking to reporters outside the centre at Dublin Castle,
Mr Cox said it will take some time for us and our European partners to figure out where to go next. He added it had been difficult to get "traction" on the Lisbon campaign while other issues were to the fore, but he refused to be drawn on whether he meant former taoiseach Bertie Ahern should have stepped down sooner because of the Mahon tribunal.
"I'm not going to get into that. I'm simply observing the facts. I was involved in the campaign and I know when it started to take off."
On whether there would be a second referendum, Mr Cox said: "I don't know, because if there was to be one it has to be some way visibly different, arguably different for some reason from the first one.
"The extent to which we can identify 'x' number of things that might make a difference is one challenge. And then to find out whether that 'x' number of things, whatever they are, could find a consensus with 26 other states is another challenge. That's going to take a long time. I don't think it's going to be worked out in a matter of weeks, possibly not even in a matter of months.
"I think there will be a lot of sympathy for Brian Cowen. The referendum road is a tough one. No one is going to want to set out some way to take it out on the Irish.
"And the default position is the Treaty of Nice. It's not that the European Union stops, it's that the European Union stops at the limit provided by the Treaty of Nice and that will be the fallback position for all 27 if nothing emerges between now and the middle of next year."
The Progressive Democrats said Ireland "must take the time to fully understand the concerns that people had that led them to reject this treaty. Failure by Ireland or by our European partners to take account of those concerns would undermine democratic coherence within the European Union."
He said a No vote also puts Croatia's imminent entry to the union at risk.
