No side reminds voters they already cast ballots on Nice

NO to Nice parties reiterated yesterday that voters should not be bullied into voting for the Treaty.

Winding up their referendum campaign, the Green Party said the people should vote No to resist the Government’s attack on democracy.

Green Party leader Trevor Sargent said the Taoiseach had let the people down by refusing to stand over the result of the first referendum. Mr Ahern should be embarrassed that the people are being asked to vote for a second time without any changes to the Treaty, he said.

“Bertie Ahern talks about influence and boxing above our weight in Europe but when he travelled to Gothenburg last June he just sat in the corner. The Government capitulated to the EU Commission and other EU heads of State and failed in their duty to communicate and uphold the people’s decision,” he said.

GP campaign director Paul Gogarty said the Green Party was proud to be Irish and proud to be European.

Enlargement was not prevented by the rejection of Nice and the issue is not whether the Irish people would be selfish in stopping enlargement. Nice should be rejected simply because it is a bad treaty, Deputy Gogarty said.

Sinn Féin said the electorate should hold the Government and the European Union to account by voting No.

SF Dáil leader Caoimhghín O’Caoláin said the treatment of the first referendum result by the Government and those of other EU States showed the direction the EU will take after Nice.

“Smaller states will be second-class members with their people compelled to follow in the wake of the larger States,” he said.

Nice is not legally necessary for enlargement, he said, adding the Yes side says it is politically necessary.

“That begs the question: ‘If we vote No on Saturday is the political will to enlarge going to disappear like snow from a ditch throughout Europe on Sunday morning? Of course it won’t,” he said.

The Socialist Party urged voters not to be railroaded by outlandish claims of economic meltdown or isolation if there is a No vote on Saturday.

Socialist TD Joe Higgins said multinational corporations will not leave the country if Nice is rejected. He said this was a scare tactic from the Yes side which has run out of arguments.