Greens slam ‘one-sided’ Nice leaflet

The Green Party has attacked the Government for issuing a 14-page information leaflet which it said calls for a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum.

The document will be distributed to 1.4 million households in the coming days.

Green Party leader Trevor Sergeant said the booklet undermines the spirit of the McKenna Judgement, which said the Government must not use its resources to promote either side in a referendum campaign.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, insisted this morning that the leaflet does not promote the ‘yes’ side of the argument, but Mr Sergeant said it fails to explain the reasons why many people are calling for a ‘no’ vote.

"This is a Government publication which is obviously motivated by the Government’s position to get a ‘yes’ vote," he said.

"I don’t think it does explain adequately what Nice is all about. The Government, I don’t believe, is in a position to be objective on this matter.

"They were told that the treaty was unacceptable to the Irish people in a proper referendum, they have ignored that result and now they want to ask the same question on exactly the same treaty again."