The Government has decided that groups supporting and opposing the proposed abortion referendum will not receive State funding for the campaign.
A Bill to be rushed through the Dβil this week will change the brief of the Referendum Commission so that it will not be presenting both sides of the issue in future referendum campaigns.
It does not, however, contain provision for political parties and interest groups to be funded as proposed recently in a report from the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution.
The changes have been criticised by the Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna. She said the purpose of the Bill was to prevent public money being used to give citizens fair and easy access to the Yes and No arguments in a referendum campaign.
"This is a major assault on the right to information and is further evidence of the Government's contempt for Irish people. The Government did not respect the People's No to the Nice Treaty and now it is trying to change the rules to suit its own agenda," she said.
The Bill proposes that the Commission prepare statements containing "general explanation of the subject matter of the proposal" and "any other information relating to those matters that the Commission considers appropriate".
It also proposes that the Commission publish and distribute those statements through television, radio and other electronic media "which the Commission considers most likely to bring them to the attention of the electorate".
The Green Party foreign affairs spokesman, Mr John Gormley, said the Government was intent on rushing through the new Referendum Bill before the Dβil recess on Friday. He said the legislation would not properly be debated and was intended to "clip the wings" of the Referendum Commission. He said the real intention was to ensure that the Irish people did not get real information on a second Nice Referendum.
Mr Anthony Coughlan, chairman of National Platform, agreed with Mr Gormley, and added that it was an attempt to find a way around the McKenna judgement.