Ministers in Dublin are at a loss to explain the scale of Ireland’s emphatic rejection of the European Union’s Lisbon reform treaty.

In 2001, when Ireland voted against a previous EU treaty, the No side prevailed largely because of the low turnout, just under 35 per cent. When the treaty was put to the people a second time, 49 per cent of the electorate voted almost 2 to 1 in favour. This time, there was a clear No majority, with a higher turnout than when Nice was re-run.