Nice campaigning ends today

Today is the last official day of campaigning ahead of the re-run of the Nice Treaty referendum this Saturday. From midnight tonight, a media moratorium will be imposed to give voters the opportunity to consider their choices before casting their votes.

The latest MRBI poll in the Irish Times shows that 42% of those questioned said they would vote 'Yes' to the treaty, while 29% said they would vote 'No'. 19% were undecided and 10% said they have no intention of voting.

Irish MEP Rosemary Dana Scallan has said that the Nice Treaty is the latest step in the push towards a European constitution and a United States of Europe. She also said that the Government's efforts to overturn the result of last year's referendum proves that they cannot be trusted.

"Our Government went out like mice and apologised for what the Irish people had done and that's why we're voting again," she said. "We simply cannot trust our Government or our political leaders to tell the people of Ireland the truth about what is happening in Europe."

Ms Scallan's colleague in the European Parliament, Fine Gael's John Cushnahan, rejected her view and said any future plans for further European integration will be put to the Irish electorate in a referendum. He said the Irish people will be voting on the Nice Treaty on Saturday and not on anything else.

"Any more fundamental questions about the future of Europe are currently under discussion at the Convention on the Future of Europe," Mr Cushnahan said. "If that particular body does make decisions about the future of Europe, it will be subject to another referendum that would be put to the people."

Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen has also appealed to voters to judge the treaty on its merits. He reiterated the Government's belief that a 'No' vote will lead to job losses and that the result of the referendum will shape the future of the European continent.

"We should remember that every group in this country responsible for creating and protecting employment and jobs say we need a 'Yes' vote and I think that people hopefully will be getting it clear in their minds that we are deciding the future of Ireland and Europe next Saturday," the minister said.

However, Patrick Kenny from the anti-Nice Equal in Europe group said the level of undecided voters in this morning's MRBI poll shows that the electorate is still widely confused about what exactly is contained in the Nice Treaty.

"After the barrage of marketing and advertising and the big names, as it were, in politics coming out and urging people to vote 'Yes', the fact that there are still a significant percentage of the population that don't yet know will show that the 'Yes' message isn't getting through and one of the reasons why it's not getting through is that the public are confused," he said.