Ahern begins 30-day campaign for Yes vote

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern today begins a 30-day campaign to change Irish voters' minds on the Treaty of Nice.

Mr Ahern last night urged the nation's three million voters to come out and vote as he named Saturday October 19 the date for the second referendum on Nice. He also asked people to consider the issue on its own merits and ignore opponents' calls to use it as an opportunity to vent anger at the newly-installed government.

"It is not a political issue - it is a national issue," the Taoiseach said as he announced the referendum date after a special cabinet meeting in Glenveagh, Co Donegal.