LABOUR PARTY:THE EYES of the world will be on Ireland on referendum day, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore said in Dublin yesterday at his party's final press conference of the campaign.
He cautioned voters against "adding political uncertainty to what is already an uncertain economic environment".
Commenting that it had "been probably the most active referendum campaign that we've seen in this country for some time", Mr Gilmore thanked the news media for its "very extensive coverage of the various arguments" and for doing "a very good job and, generally speaking, a very fair job".
Predicting that the result would be "close", comparable to the vote in the divorce referendum of 1995, he expressed the hope that, as on that occasion, Labour would be on the winning side.
"That result was very close, too. I hope, like that one, that we're on the right side of the line."
Labour had set out to make "a positive case" for the treaty.
"We can stand over every word, every press statement that we issued, every argument that we have made. We have told the truth about what is in the Lisbon Treaty and we have given an honest opinion as to how we felt it would affect this country."
Mr Gilmore said it was "fair to say" that the eyes of the world would be on this country. "I understand that something like 300 media outlets have been given accreditation. And I think that we need to reflect on the message that this country sends to the world.
"Are we going to send a message that we are a country that's open for business, that is fully-engaged with the European Union, or are we going to send a message that we are backing away from the EU? These are changing times economically. Today, we had the information that the rate of unemployment has gone through the 200,000 mark for the first time in several years."
He said that as people were concerned and worried about their jobs and about their businesses, "as we see job losses increasing, as we see prices rising, as we see changes happening in interest rates affecting people's mortgages, this is not the time for this country to start backing away from its engagement with the EU and adding political uncertainty to what is already an uncertain economic environment.
"We do know that if people vote for the treaty, the EU will continue to function in our view in an improved way, based on the Lisbon Treaty. We know what's in that treaty. We know what we're getting with that treaty.
"On the other hand, if there's a No vote, frankly, we don't know what the implications or consequences will be for the EU itself, for our relationship with the EU and for jobs and businesses in this country."
Labour spokesman on Europe Joe Costello said the party started its Lisbon campaign "earlier than anybody else". Labour had its first press conference on December 12th last year, "the day before the treaty was signed". Labour MEP for Dublin Proinsias De Rossa said a valuable opportunity to enhance the rights of workers, women and children would be lost if the treaty was defeated.
