THE passing of the bail amendment was an "achievement in the fight against crime", said the Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, Mr John O'Donoghue. He said the low turnout owed as "much to failure of the official information campaign as the inclement weather".
He said the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, had been a "continuing distraction" during the campaign and the Labour Party and Democratic Left had been "only lukewarm" in their support.
The Yes vote "closes off a significant gap in our bail system which had been exploited by serious criminals", the leader of Democratic Left, Mr Dc Rossa, said and the amendment was "just one part of the most comprehensive package of measures introduced by any government to deal with crime".
The Government would carefully monitor the application "of the new provisions", the Labour Party campaign director, Ms Joan Burton, said, and the Government would now turn its attention to reform of the courts and reviewing the work of the Garda.
It was clear from the result "that people wanted action to be taken against persistent offenders". Civil liberties would not be threatened, she maintained, as the amendment was in accordance with the European Convention on Human Rights.
"A strong message to criminals that they can no longer take advantage of our lax laws" has been sent by the electorate, the leader of the Progressive Democrats, Ms Mary Harney, said.
The Government was blamed for the low turnout by the Green Party MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna. She accused the Government of "starving the public of information" and rejected the Government's assertion that the judgment named after her prevented the proper distribution of information.
The director of Fine Gael's campaign, Mr Charles Flanagan, pointed out that while the low poll was disappointing, "it is the highest percentage vote in favour of a constitutional amendment in more than 17 years
The holding of the referendum on Thursday disenfranchised many young voters, according to the National Youth Council of Ireland. A spokesman said a large number of students would not have been able to leave college on Thursday to vote.
