FF to spend €500,000 in bid to pass Nice

Political Reporter

The party is set to spend 500,000 euro in an effort to ensure the referendum is passed at the second time of asking - 10 times more than was spent in the first referendum campaign.

But the party's confidence will have taken a battering following the hostile reception Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy received on the Late Late Show last Friday night.

The FF campaign will be run from a designated campaign and media centre on Pembroke Street, just off Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin city centre. Staffed by up to 15 researchers and press officers, the campaign headquarters is based on the general election media headquarters in Treasury Buildings.

The rebuttal unit, pioneered by the enthusiastic young media staff - dubbed the Taliban in reference to their fanaticism - during the election, will again be a centre plank of the campaign. The unit monitors media reports by the No side and responds immediately to points raised.

Within 15 minutes of radio reports of the Green Party's Nice launch last Friday morning, a statement was issued from Chief Whip Mary Hanafin refuting claims made by GP leader Trevor Sargent and MEP Patricia McKenna.

Veteran spin-doctor PJ Mara is the FF national campaign director, while FF general secretary Martin Mackin will head up the campaign and media centre.

The party press office, depleted after the general election, has been bolstered in recent weeks by the addition of Suzanne Coogan, former TV3 News presenter and Jerry O'Connor, former news editor with Independent Network News, suppliers of national news to local radio stations. FF European press officer Dave Harmon will liaise with national and local media.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Martin Cullen has announced that another four constituencies will use electronic voting for the first time in the Nice referendum on October 19.

Seven constituencies will now use electronic voting as Dublin Mid-West, Dublin South-West, Dublin South and Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown join Dublin North, Dublin West and Meath, where electronic voting was used for the first time in the general election.

Information campaigns will be conducted in the four new constituencies over the next four weeks. Results from the seven constituencies are expected to be available by 2am on October 20.