Irish voters have thrown the European Union into turmoil by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty in a crunch referendum.

Hours before the official tally was due to be announced, Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern conceded that the 'yes' camp had failed to win the day.

Mr Ahern said: 'It looks like this will be a "no" vote.

'At the end of the day, for a myriad of reasons, the people have spoken.

'We will have to wait and see what happens in the rest of the countries. Obviously if we are the only one to reject the treaty that will raise questions. We are in uncharted territories.'

The rejection will influence the ratification processes of other countries and effectively kill the Treaty dead.

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Opposition: The 'no' campaign was slick compared to the pro-treaty effort

An international referendums expert said Ireland was unlikely to be offered a second referendum as it was when the first Nice Treaty was rejected in 2001 but approved a year later.

The legal position is that if one country rejects the Treaty, then it falls,' said Professor Matt Qvortrup of Scotland's Robert Gordon University.

'A no verdict in Ireland will also adversely affect the current ratification process of a number of other EU states like Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland and Denmark.'

Prof Qvortrup said it was unclear who would take the blame if the Treaty collapsed.

'As individual member state governments negotiated the terms, heads are unlikely to roll in the EU Commission,' he added.

Financial markets will probably not be affected by a negative result as the Treaty does not have immediate economic consequences, unlike the turmoil caused when Denmark rejected The Maastricht Treaty in the early 1990s.

Ireland is the only EU country to have held a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, though 18 of the 27 members states have already ratified it.

Five constituencies in Dublin showed the 'no' vote well ahead, with three evenly divided and one in favour.

Correspondents for public service broadcaster RTE in other parts of the country also said early counting showed 'no' in the lead.

In Britain, ministers are likely to insist Parliament will still ratify the controversial EU 'constitution' - even if the Irish kill it off.

Downing Street moved to reassure EU partners that it 'has no intention of pulling the plug', although a 'no' result would provide a massive boost to those in Britain opposed to the treaty.

Government sources said a Bill to make legal the document, which hands swathes of power to Brussels, will continue its path through Parliament.

The Commons has already approved the treaty and it is now in the Lords awaiting its final reading.

In Ireland, many believe that the treaty's complexity and fears about losing Ireland's low corporation tax policies and military neutrality are key factors behind a surge in the opposition.

The Dublin government insisted yesterday it was confident of winning. Most political parties, business, trades unions and the powerful farming lobby have been calling for a 'Yes'.

Since it joined the EU in 1973, Ireland has pocketed billions in grants which have transformed its economy.

During the campaign the European Commission agreed a deliberate policy to shelve controversial issues, such as plans for an EU army.

EC president Jose Manuel Barroso said a rejection would be bad for Europe and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner also warned that if Ireland voted 'No', 'the first victim... would be the Irish'.

All 27 EU countries must ratify the constitution, which was redrawn and renamed the Lisbon Treaty after French and Dutch voters threw out the original version in 2005.