Irish voters have endeared themselves to "misguided" far-right groups by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty but the country still wants to wed its future to the European Union, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today. Opening a five-hour debate in the Dáil, Mr Cowen said Irish people were not proud to see the National Front leader Jean Marie le Pen or Eurosceptics rejoicing in the referendum result. The Taoiseach is due to explain the shock verdict to EU leaders at the European Council summit in Brussels tomorrow and seek time to plot a future within the 27-state bloc for the country. ``There are some individuals and groups across Europe who now wish to claim the Irish people as their new friends,'' he said. ``They are headed by the likes of (National Front leader) Jean Marie le Pen or (UKIP leader) Nigel Farrage. I believe that no proud Irish man or woman could but be uneasy that they rejoice in our decision.'' He added: ``And let us be under no illusions about why they are rejoicing. It is because they believe they can use the vote of our people to serve their misguided political goals - goals that Ireland does not and never will share, goals that are inimical to our interests.'' The future of EU reform was plunged into chaos last week when the controversial charter was rejected in a referendum by 53.4% to 46.6%. Mr Cowen said Ireland must be allowed ample time to analyse last week's referendum result and to chart a roadmap for a future within the EU. Today's Dáil debate also heard claims that the delay by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in announcing a referendum date helped the anti-Treaty side to scaremonger voters. Opposition leader Enda Kenny said: ``The result was we were left with a vacuum where misinformation began to seep into people's minds which led to negative attitudes about a whole range of things around the country during the course of the campaign. There was a confusion factor out there.'' The Fine Gael party leader also blamed the ``No'' verdict on complacency among voters because they saw most of the mainstream Dáil parties on one side of the argument. Sinn Fein, the only anti-Treaty party in the Dáil, is meeting in Brussels tomorrow with MEPS from France and the Netherlands - who both rejected the EU Constitution in 2005.