UPDATE 4-Irish voters overwhelmingly back EU reform treaty

By Darren Ennis and Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Irish voters have overwhelmingly approved the European Union's Lisbon reform treaty, putting Europe's ambitions for more global influence back on track, incomplete results showed on Saturday.

Results issued by 1400 GMT from 40 percent of constituencies showed 67 percent support for the treaty in Friday's referendum, much higher than expected and a sharp turnaround from a vote last year in which the Irish rejected the charter.

The treaty would make it easier to reach decisions in the EU now that it has 27 member states and create the posts of a long-term president and foreign policy chief to give it more say and reinforce its image as a global force.

'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 the Irish capital, Dublin. 'It is a good day for Ireland and it is a good day for Europe.'

Irish approval, after a fraught and often nasty campaign, turns the spotlight on Poland and the Czech Republic, whose eurosceptic leaders are now the only obstacle to the treaty being implemented across the EU.

'Thank you Ireland,' a smiling European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters in Brussels. He and other European leaders urged their Polish and Czech counterparts to sign the treaty quickly.

Less than 90 minutes after vote counting started, opponents of the treaty conceded defeat and Foreign Minister Micheal Martin had predicted an emphatic win for the 'Yes' camp.

In the main Dublin counting centre, pro-treaty campaigners shook hands and slapped each other on the back.

Voter turnout was around 59 percent based on ballots counted so far, up from 53 percent in the previous referendum.



VICTORY FOR IRISH GOVERNMENT

The outcome was a victory for Cowen and his centre-left coalition, which is trying to pull Europe's once fastest-growing economy out of recession and recover from near record lows in opinion polls.

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

Voters heeded warnings that a second dismissal risked isolating the country economically and they appeared to see EU membership and aid as helpful in the economic crisis.

The EU, which put heavy pressure on Dublin to hold the second referendum after last year's rejection, also offered Ireland guarantees on several issues including national sovereignty that were intended to sway voters this time.

Official results were due to be released at about 1630 GMT.

Anti-treaty groups, which had hoped anger at the government over the economy would yield a second 'No', accepted the tide had turned decisively but called on eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus to fight against ratification.

'I absolutely hope Klaus will hold out,' Declan Ganley, one of the leading figures on the 'No' side, told reporters. 'I'm surprised how big the 'Yes' vote is.'

But political observers expect Klaus will eventually sign up to the pact, despite seeing it as a step towards a European superstate that will dilute national sovereignty.

Economic analysts said Irish debt yield spreads should tighten by around five basis points on the result, offering some relief to a country borrowing 400 million euros ($581 million) a week from international markets.

Foreign-exchange specialists said Ireland's approval would be marginally positive for the euro currency as it clears up uncertainty about the bloc's direction and paves the way for future enlargement.



GLOBAL ROLE

The creation of a president of the European Council of EU leaders and a foreign policy chief is intended to increase the influence of a bloc representing 495 million people as the balance of power shifts following the global financial crisis to give China and other emerging powers more say.

Ireland's vote followed warnings from celebrities, politicians and business leaders that a second 'No' would cost Ireland European goodwill when support from the European Central Bank is crucial for the country's economic future.

Nigel Farage, head of the main eurosceptic grouping in the European Parliament and a fierce critic of the Lisbon Treaty, said it was a triumph of fear.

'It's a decisive victory for the bully boys, the big money men and the bureaucrats,' he said. 'Out of fear a small country has been bullied into changing its mind.'

((For stories on the vote click on))

(Additional reporting by Andras Gergely and Paul Hoskins)

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