Yes campaign insists it will not get complacent

THE Yes to Lisbon campaign enjoys a 15-point lead in the polls with less than a week left to polling day.

=Figures on the Yes side insisted yesterday they would take nothing for granted despite the poll result, and would continue to campaign hard until next Friday. But the No campaign took heart from the fact the gap between the two sides has narrowed – albeit marginally – and said the treaty could still be defeated.

The latest poll, conducted by TNS MRBI for the Irish Times, showed 48% of people are likely to vote Yes, an increase of two points since the last poll earlier this month, while 33% say they will vote No, an increase of four points. The remaining 19% say they don’t know how they will vote. The findings mean the Yes side’s lead has narrowed from 17 points to 15, but that still represents a comfortable margin with less than a week of the campaign left.

The pro-Lisbon parties said the poll was “encouraging” but insisted they would keep striving for votes.

Fine Gael TD Billy Timmins said that while the poll indicated a majority of people were convinced about the benefits of passing Lisbon the result was “by no means” a foregone conclusion. “It is critical that all advocates of a Yes vote continue to engage with the electorate right up to polling day and emphasise what Ireland stands to gain by remaining relevant in Europe through ratification of the treaty,” he said.

Labour TD Joe Costello said it was a concern that the increase for the No campaign was larger than the increase for the Yes campaign. “It is worrying that as the undecided voters begin to make up their minds towards the end of the campaign, a 2:1 majority are opting for the No side,” he said. “We must... convert the undecided voters into Yes voters on October 2.”

Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin, who is directing Fianna Fáil’s campaign, said the Government would take nothing for granted. “While the response is very positive we will not be complacent and we intend to redouble our campaign efforts over the next seven days,” he said.

Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Féin, the only Dáil party campaigning against the treaty, said the higher increase for the No side showed people were beginning to focus on the actual contents of the treaty. “It is telling that the Yes side have failed to put forward even one reason to support the treaty and instead are trying to frighten people.”

The poll asked 1,000 respondents whether they were likely to vote Yes or No in the referendum next Friday. The margin of error is plus or minus 3%.