Irish voters overwhelmingly back EU reform treaty

By Darren Ennis and Andras Gergely

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish voters overwhelmingly endorsed the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty, results showed on Saturday, putting the bloc's ambitions for greater global influence firmly back on track.

In a reversal of last year's "No" vote, more than two-thirds of voters backed the charter, which gives the 27-country bloc a long-term president and stronger foreign policy chief.

"Today the Irish people have spoken with a clear and resounding voice," Prime Minister Brian Cowen told reporters from the steps of his office in Dublin. "It is a good day for Ireland and it is a good day for Europe."

The result is a relief for Cowen, who would have been likely to lose his job had it gone the other way. His centre-left coalition has lost its technical majority in parliament and is suffering in opinion polls.

In a hard-fought campaign, the government, business leaders and even celebrities had said a second rejection risked isolating Ireland while it relied on the goodwill of the European Central Bank and foreign investors to pull out of one of the worst recessions in Europe.

The argument appeared to work. Final results showed only two constituencies out of 43 voting "No," and middle-class communities came out strongly in favour of the charter.

Turnout at 59 percent was also healthy for an EU referendum in Ireland and comfortably above the 53 percent seen last year.

"We are in a very difficult economic position and this is an essential first step towards economic recovery," Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said.