One in six ‘doesn’t understand Treaty’

ONLY one in six Irish people feel they know what they are voting for in the Nice Treaty, a Referendum Commission survey revealed yesterday.

The finding is deeply disturbing and underlines the challenge facing the commission, its chairman Mr Justice Tom Finlay said.

Equally alarming, said Mr Finlay, is the fact that just 28% of people under the age of 24 intend to vote. “In spite of a previous referendum on the issue and considerable media discussion, levels of understanding remain unacceptably low,” Mr Finlay said.