The leaders of the campaigns for and against the Lisbon Treaty have responded to weekend opinion polls on the issue by warning their supporters that there is no room for complacency about the result.
A poll in Saturday's Irish Times showed that 64 per cent of people were still undecided on the issue, while a poll in yesterday's Sunday Business Post showed fewer undecided voters but the result was still in doubt.
The Minister for EU Affairs, Dick Roche, said yesterday that there was absolutely no room for any complacency during the referendum campaign by those who backed the EU Reform Treaty and wanted Ireland to remain firmly at the heart of Europe.
He listed a number of challenges for supporters of the Yes campaign.
"We must continue to inform the public in a balanced way of the key political and economic benefits that this treaty will have for Ireland and for Europe.
"We must challenge and dispel the myths about this treaty which are being peddled by the No camp and above all we must encourage the Irish people to exercise their right as citizens of the only EU state holding a referendum on this treaty to exercise that right by turning out in very strong numbers to vote," said Mr Roche.
Fine Gael's spokeswoman on European affairs, Lucinda Creighton, who supports the campaign for a Yes vote, called on the Government to begin a comprehensive information campaign on the treaty as a matter of urgency and set a date for the referendum.
"It is shocking that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Ministers Dick Roche and Dermot Ahern have ignored the poll results released in October which showed a huge proportion of people undecided on this treaty," she said.
Ms Creighton said the key message coming from the polls was that people were undecided because they are uninformed. "I am calling on Minister Dick Roche to do two simple things. Make available an accurate summary of the Reform Treaty to enable the public to decide how they will vote. Set a date for the referendum, so that we can begin a serious, informed and honest debate as to the impact of this treaty."
Sinn Féin's Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said that the rise in don't knows in the Irish Times poll should act as a wake-up call to the Yes campaign, which had engaged in "fact-less scaremongering rather than debating the content of the treaty".
She said the Lisbon Treaty was the most far-reaching treaty that has been put before the Irish people in the history of the EU and it required a massive debate over the coming months.
"For example, the massive transfer of power with 105 additional areas transferred from the Dáil to the EU and the treaty's advancement of the militarisation of the EU with its commitment to a single EU foreign, security and defence policy with a binding obligation on all member states to comply, are just two points of debate that must take place between Irish society's stakeholders," she said.
"Instead of engaging with the Irish people on the content of the treaty, the Yes campaign have threatened them with the badge of 'bad Europeans', 'head bangers' and Ireland ending up 'the laughing stock of Europe', should they use their democratic right to vote against the Lisbon Treaty," said the MEP.
However, the Irish Times poll findings were welcomed by the Alliance For Europe, who said that despite all the publicity attracted by the No campaigners, Libertas, Sinn Féin and the Socialist Workers Party, the No side had lost ground.
"It is clear that there is a lot of work to do, but on a positive note it is also clear that the more information people have on the treaty the more supportive they are about it. This treaty will ensure a more democratic EU with a single voice which will be better placed to deal with the new challenges we face in today's world," said the Alliance chairman, Ruairí Quinn.
