The Libertas Institute, a lobby group that along with others successfully campaigns for a “no” vote in the 2008 referendum in Ireland on the Treaty of Lisbon, is formed on October 24, 2006. It is registered at Moyne Park, Tuam, County Galway, along with other organisations associated with Libertas and/or Declan Ganley.

The founders of the Libertas Institute are Declan Ganley, who serves as President, Naoise Nunn, James O’Reilly, Norrie Keane, Martina Higgins, Seán Ganley (Declan’s brother) and Dr. Chris Coughlan.

The group’s mission statement is “…to initiate and provoke enlightened discussion on the European Union, its relevance to its member states and peoples and its role in World affairs having regard to our shared values of peace, democracy, individual liberty and free markets…”

The Libertas Charter defines what is considered to be Europe‘s traditional values and influences, asserts what citizens’ rights and responsibilities are, acknowledges the EU’s role since World War II, states that the present EU structure is inherently undemocratic and unaccountable, and pledges to create a popular movement to debate Europe’s future.

The first Libertas Institute press release archived by the Wayback Machine, a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, dates to June 22, 2007. It concerns French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Treaty of Lisbon’s clause regarding free and undistorted competition. An article by Ganley dated July 16, 2007, in Business Week covers similar themes. The Libertas Institute continues to release press releases during its existence.

The Libertas Institute has a loan facility with Ganley, and by October 3, 2008, it has used €200,000 of this money. Since January 1, 2008, it also has the facility to receive public donations via its website. Ganley and his wife, Delia Mary Ganley (née Paterek), also donate the maximum amount of €6,300 each. Libertas states that its donors are “100% Irish.”

The Libertas Institute is a “third party” for the purposes of political fundraising. Regulation of such is monitored by the Standards in Public Office Commission which imposes a donations limit of €5,348 per donor per year, rising to €6,348.69 per donor per year in 2009, imposes a limit of €126.97 for any given anonymous donation, and disallows any donation from any non-Irish citizens resident outside the island of Ireland.

The Libertas Institute advocates a European Energy Innovation Fund intended to license and fund carbon-neutral energy producers, the funding deriving from auctions of CO₂ emissions allowances. It also deprecates the Treaty of Lisbon and advocates a “no” vote in Lisbon I, the first Irish referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon. On March 12, 2008, Libertas launches a “no” campaign called “Facts, not politics” and states that they expect to spend in the region of €1.5m on the campaign. The campaign targets wavering moderates, the most critical votes for the referendum. The campaign is joined by businessman Ulick McEvaddy on April 20, 2008.

Several politicians, including Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche, clashes with the group’s campaign stance but The Sunday Business Post reports that the group’s efforts at projecting its warnings about the treaty in the media are “hugely successful.” The referendum is held on June 12, 2008, and is defeated by 53.4% to 46.6%, with a turnout of 53.1%.

Following the referendum, attention shifts to Ganley’s new political party, Libertas.eu, and the Libertas Institute website, libertas.org, is redirected to that party’s website.