‘Trickery used to win Nice vote’

ANTI-NICE protesters claimed last night that every trick in the political book was being played to get the referendum passed.

The protesters who were at a Forum for Europe meeting in Killarney, Co Kerry, also claimed that the truth was being massaged in an effort to get people to vote yes in the referendum.

A group of protestors, who had different reasons for opposing the referendum, earlier handed out leaflets and held up banners in the centre of the town.

Con O’Riordan from Moyvane said democracy was under attack and he hit out at State agencies that were urging people to vote “no”.

“People are being told that if they vote ‘no’, Ireland will become an associate member of the EU. This is a lie,’’ he said.

Mr O’Riordan also claimed there was no need for the Nice Treaty to be passed to enable the EU to expand to 27 member states, quoting leading EU figures as saying the EU would expand even if Ireland voted ‘no’.

Mr O’Riordan also claimed that the EU Court of Auditors had refused to sign the EU accounts because fraud and irregularities were endemic in the system.