Rerun one poll, rerun them all
But what I do object to is the cynical manner adopted by this Government towards last year's result and the fact that they are reacting to the diktat of a leader of a foreign power, Instead of accepting the expressed will of the Irish people, our Government are re-running the issue at the behest of Germany's Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, who said: "The Irish people will have to decide in a new referendum." (Irish Independent, June 5, 2001).
If Mr Maurice O'Connell (TheIrish Examiner, August 28). is so upset by last year's turnout of the electorate, surely he should be calling for a re-run of the other two constitutional matters the prohibition of the death penalty and the international criminal court which were also decided on the day?
No matter how much debate and discussion has gone on since the last poll on Nice, The reality is that there has been no change to the content or substance of the Nice Treaty itself. The Seville declaration has no legal standing and is but a sop thrown to in the direction of anyone who might have concerns about neutrality.
Those who did not vote last year had the same opportunity as the rest of us vote or let others make the call for you. Clearly they chose the latter. Mr O'Connell was unimpressed that "only (my italics) 35% of the electorate actually voted in last year's Nice referendum". Could he please tell us Why was there no call for a re-run of the sixth and seventh amendments to the constitution when "only" 29% of the electorate" turned out to voted or did the questions of adoption and university representation to the Seanad meet with his approval?
Fintan J Power,
23 Grange Lawn,
Waterford.
