CAMPAIGNING BY the Coalition parties on the fiscal treaty referendum will be ramped up today amid warnings from a senior Fine Gael figure that the Yes side is facing a “difficult engagement” with the electorate.
Fine Gael chairman Charlie Flanagan conceded: “It’ll be very, very tight . . . We have a huge job to do, both Fine Gael and Labour, and it will involve a similar amount of energy and commitment as a general election.”
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, whose party is also advocating a Yes vote, has sharply criticised the Government parties’ approach to date. But Mr Flanagan yesterday insisted that the Coalition partners understood the extent of the challenge and would mobilise canvassers.
“We will get it over the line but it will be a difficult engagement,” he said.
The campaign begins formally today once an order for the referendum is signed, while yesterday was dominated by a row over whether Ireland could have access to more bailout funds in the event of a No vote on May 31st.
Ministers insisted Ireland would not have access to European Stability Mechanism (ESM) funds if the treaty was rejected, with Minister for Finance Michael Noonan saying: “The ESM will be the only source of bailout funds when the Irish programme ends . . . A No vote is a leap into the unknown.”
Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte said the International Monetary Fund “will not come to the rescue of any member state of the European Union, only in partnership with the ESM”.
However, Sinn Féin’s Peadar Tóibín, citing a story in a Sunday newspaper, said Ireland would not be isolated from funding if it voted against the treaty.
“If they would not let Anglo Irish Bank fail, they’re not going to let this State fail,” he said.
An IMF spokeswoman last night said the article in The Sunday Times misinterpreted remarks from an IMF spokesman, “which were a factual statement about fund lending procedures in general and not about Ireland or any other country specifically”.
She said the fund makes lending decisions based on specific country circumstances taking many factors into consideration, including the overall adequacy of financing to meet the country’s needs.
“In this context, the current fund lending to support programmes in euro zone countries has been undertaken together with our troika partners,” she added.
This week will be marked by the launch of poster campaigns by the Government parties. Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore and director of elections Joan Burton will unveil Labour’s poster today. The Tricolour will feature prominently on the poster, along with the words “stability” and “Yes”.
Mr Gilmore received a standing ovation from Fine Gael public representatives when he spoke at their meeting on the referendum in the Burlington Hotel on Saturday.
Fine Gael’s formal campaign launch takes place tomorrow. The party will have two posters. One will feature the slogan, “For investment, stability, recovery. Vote yes”. The other will state: “For a working Ireland. Vote yes.”
The Government parties will spend a fraction of their general election outlay on the referendum campaign, which was not on the horizon when annual budgets were being drawn up. Fine Gael expects to spend more than €300,000, while Labour believes it will spend between €100,000 and €200,000.
Mr Martin complained of Government parties “sneering’’ and engaging in “cat-calling’’ in their responses to TDs advocating a No vote. “People do not like that kind of approach,” he said and called for argument based only on the facts contained in the treaty. He said the Government needed to move quickly to provide information to people on the issues involved in the referendum.