The Republic’s European Affairs Minister Dick Roche raised the prospect of a second Lisbon Treaty referendum last night, saying he believes it is “the appropriate response” to the country’s continuing political crisis.

Mr Roche’s controversial comments came as the Catholic Primate of all-Ireland yesterday voiced fears that some Christians had voted against the treaty because the EU was becoming ever more secular in its outlook.

The Minister said: “My personal view is that a referendum is the appropriate response to the position we are in. This is very much a personal view at this stage. If we want to retain our position as a constructive EU member State, we cannot simply sit on our hands, as some would have us do, and keep saying that ‘No means No’.”

Mr Roche is the first Minister to publicly suggest an eventual re-run of the treaty referendum, defeated last June.

Last night the Minister moved to downplay any controversy about his remarks by saying the Irish government would make no decision on the matter until after its detailed analysis of the referendum defeat was completed and considered.

A government spokesman said: “Minister Roche is not calling for a second referendum to be put. That would not be a fair reflection. The government is instead following the steps it said it would take in the wake of the referendum outcome”

Mr Roche yesterday attended the Humbert Summer School where Cardinal Sean Brady warned of Christian “unease” at the European project and a growing belief among believers that EU policy was not formulated on the basis of religious values but on purely secular terms.

He said he believed this had played a role in the defeat of the Lisbon treaty, and called for reflection on the direction Europe was taking.

The differing views from senior members of Church and State will this week reopen the entire Lisbon debate — but may not bring closer the finding of a solution that would ensure Ireland’s continued full membership of the European Union.

The Irish government is especially wary of being seen to be offering a prescription to the people before it even receives an analysis of why the people voted No.

The results of a major survey of public opinion on the referendum will be received next month, and Taoiseach Brian Cowen will then bring his analysis of why the plebiscite was defeated to other EU Heads of Government. A government spokesman said yesterday that some of the reasons adduced for voting No had contradicted one another.

The Republic has been given until October to tell other EU states what it intends to do to rectify the situation — as ratification of Lisbon continues in other countries.

“We now need to take a hard look at our situation within the EU,” Mr Roche commented. “We have to recognise, however, that all other member states — 26 sovereign, democratic parliaments — are likely to have ratified the treaty by the end of the year. This will leave Ireland in an isolated position.

“In the view of the other member states; we will be preventing the EU from equipping itself to deal with the many political and economic challenges facing today’s Europe.”

The European Affairs Minister privately does not see any chance of resolving the problem by trying to put elements of Lisbon into Irish law by the passing Bills in Dail Eireann. If the legislative route was not adopted the first time out, it could not be resorted to now, he believes. But Ireland cannot afford to do nothing.

“‘Not an inch’ is not a policy that has much to commend it in a dynamic Europe that wants to move forward,” Mr Roche said. “We need to deal with the referendum result step by step. We should not jump to hasty conclusions or exclude any options.

“We have to explore all possible solutions. We cannot exclude the possibility that, at some stage, and in the right circumstances, it may be necessary to consult the people once again.”