The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, pledged this afternoon the forthcoming referendum on the Nice Treaty would be the biggest EU campaign in the State since 1972.
Speaking after a two-day meeting of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party in Killarney, Mr Ahern said he was confident all elements of the organisation nationally would play a role.
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He conceded the first referendum on the treaty had been poorly handled and urged party colleagues to get as many people out canvassing as possible, saying a visible presence on the ground was paramount for a Yes vote.
"The last campaign was not a good campaign - we just didn't generate any interest and people were just sleep-walking through it ... and that is not going to happen this time," he said.
He predicted the campaign would cost several hundred thousand euro which he said his party had not got.
The Cabinet will meet in Donegal tomorrow to decide on a date for the poll and to finalise any other outstanding issues regarding the referendum.
Most pundits are predicting the Government will opt for a date in late October.
The two-day closed Fianna Fáil meeting culminated this morning with an address from Kerry Group's chief executive, Mr Denis Brosnan.
Mr Brosnan is understood to have told the session that a `No' vote would be a complete disaster for the State.
Mr Des Byrne of Behaviour and Attitudes is also said to have told the gathering that recent opinion polls indicated the `Yes' vote to be running at 40 per cent with 30 per cent intending to vote no and a further 30 per cent undecided.
In a change of schedule Mr McCreevy, who was to speak today, addressed the meeting yesterday in an effort to allay growing unease from backbenchers about the State of the Nation's finances.
