No, you can’t see my book, Barrett tells FF

THE No to Nice campaigner Justin Barrett accused the Yes camp of desperation yesterday by trying to whip up controversy over a book he is refusing to allow Fianna Fáil to read.

Fianna Fáil Junior Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche accused Mr Barrett of trying to hide the book, which includes his vision of the development of the EU.

But Mr Barrett, a prominent pro-life campaigner, said he had nothing to hide in his book, but would not give it to the party because it would try to use it as part of a smear campaign. "I think what we're hearing is the scraping of a very empty barrel. It was done up as an internal discussion document among pro-life people. It's my own personal views rather than the No to Nice this smacks of desperation," Mr Barrett said. He said he would reprint the book next week and it would be available to the Irish public, but he vowed not to give Fianna Fáil a copy.

"There's nothing in the book about Nice. But I wouldn't hide anything from the Irish people, so we've taken a view that since the minister has engaged in the notion that a smear a day keeps the No vote away, we're not going to give it to Fianna Fáil," he told RTÉ's News at One programme.

Mr Roche, however, maintained his stance that Mr Barrett was trying to hide his views and prevent the public from knowing what really lay behind his campaign. "If the No side were to win this referendum, Justin Barrett would claim it as a victory for the views of his movement. The public have a right to know exactly what these views are," he said.

"The facts are clear the book has been kept out of every public library in the country as well as the National Library. It has also been withdrawn from sale in the bookshops where it was available."

But Mr Barrett said he had published the book himself and it had only been stocked in a small bookshop in Grafton Court Books, Co Longford. He said it had not been withdrawn from bookshelves and said it was never generally available in the first place. He added that, ironically, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had been campaigning in Longford recently and had been within arm's reach of a copy if he had wanted one.

Mr Barrett said he was more than willing to allow the public and members of the media access to the book, and accused Fianna Fáil of surreptitiously trying to get their hands on a copy.

He said he was suspicious at the sudden upsurge in people ringing him, claiming to be academics, and wanting a copy of the book. "From our point of view, this is a very funny story.

"They obviously believe there is something terrible in it. We've withdrawn it from them for amusement value and people have rung us under various guises to try and get a copy of it," he said.