Ireland will vote on EU fiscal treaty in May By setting the date, the Irish government has fired the starting gun on a vote that will be central to the country's economic future. Should voters reject the treaty - which is intended to better enforce budget discipline among EU members - Ireland will not have access to Europe's bail-out fund. The country is in the second year of an austerity programme it agreed to in exchange for a €67.5bn (£56bn) rescue package from the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The Irish government has said it plans to return to the international bond markets next year, something economists say will be made easier and cheaper if it has access to Europe's bail-out fund. Although the austerity programme has caused considerable anger among Irish voters, the latest polls suggest that the treaty would receive the public's backing. A rejection would not derail the treaty, which Britain has already opted out of, but would be a major embarrassment to eurozone leaders still grappling with the debt crisis. News of the ballot came as a subsidiary of Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC signed a memorandum of understanding with Dublin's debt agency to explore investment opportunities in Ireland. Although it contained little detail, analysts said Beijing's $410bn (£257bn) fund could be interested in buying Irish assets rather than Irish debt.