Dublin- A report in Thursday's Irish Times revealed more about the funding for the main lobby group that successfully campaigned for a "No" vote in Ireland's June referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty.

The founder of Libertas, Declan Ganley, told Ireland's Hot Press he had given the campaign a "personal loan" of 200,000 euros (300,000 dollars), the Irish Times report said.

Ganley said he had also set up a loan facility at the start of the campaign in case it needed more money. The campaign spent 800,000 euros, he said, out of a budget of 1.3 million.

Ganley's comments were prompted by questions from European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering who on Tuesday had asked whether the no campaign had been funded by US agencies like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The US military is a customer of Ganley's Rivada Networks company.

Ganley told the Irish Times he found Poettering's remarks to be "absolutely outrageous."

Ireland's no vote has effectively halted the treaty, which was aimed at simplifying the decision-making process in the 27-member bloc.

As with the Irish rejection and subsequent approval 18 months later of the Nice Treaty in 2001, it looks increasingly likely the Irish will be called on to vote again on Lisbon after an EU summit in Brussels next month, British and Irish press reports said Thursday.

Ireland was the only EU member to hold a referendum to approve the Lisbon Treaty.

A meeting of political party leaders in the European Parliament discussed the funding for the no campaign in Brussels Thursday and decided it should be referred to Ireland's Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) for investigation.

Irish law does not permit donations to lobby groups of more than 6,348.69 euros each year. A donor must also be an Irish citizen, have a company based in Ireland or direct their affairs from Ireland. (dpa)