Shortly after Ireland's first referendum, Polish President Lech Kaczyński had said that it would have been pointless to give his final signature before a solution to the Irish no vote could be found. While the President had previously signed a parliamentary bill paving the way for Polish ratification, he had declined to sign the ratification instrument of the treaty. After the Irish electorate had approved the treaty in the second referendum, President Kaczyński then signed Poland's instrument of ratification on 10 October 2009. The instrument was lodged with the Italian government in Rome on 12 October 2009.