The Government's campaign for a Yes vote on the Nice Treaty has been hit by an eve-of-poll dispute with its European partners on this year's budgetary guidelines.
Meeting his EU counterparts in Luxembourg, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, defied a call for action to offset the inflationary effect of last December's Budget.
Although he approved this year's Broad Economic Policy Guidelines, Mr McCreevy rejected a request - which echoed the wording of February's unprecedented EU budget reprimand - for "countervailing measures" during the current fiscal year.
"The Budget plans for this year have been set out and I will be doing nothing else," he said.
The Commission is due to report in September on Ireland's progress towards complying with February's reprimand.
But Mr McCreevy said yesterday that, since the report would come just two months before the next Budget, he is relaxed about what it concludes.
Despite the row, Government sources remained confident of victory in the Nice referendum, while conceding the margin may be narrow. While weekend poll figures indicated the Yes side was still ahead, the high proportion of undecided voters and the expected low turnout were causing concern in political circles.
At his final press conference on the treaty, the Taoiseach said there would be huge disillusionment and disappointment all over Europe if the Irish people failed to back the Nice Treaty.
"We cannot, in conscience, pull up the ladder behind us", he said.
A leading campaigner against the treaty, Mr Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance, said the turnout could be as low as 35 per cent. The campaign had been too short and there was a lot of confusion about the issues.
"People on the doorsteps feel they are being rushed into a decision without a proper debate and as a consequence many are going to vote No. We predict a narrow victory with 51 or 52 per cent against the treaty," Mr Cole said.
Meanwhile, the No to Nice Campaign, won the right in the High Court to seek an injunction today against the Taoiseach over allegations by Mr Ahern that the group had received up to £100,000 in funds from a pro-life organisation in the US.
In a separate development, the Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Boyce, said he could not support the Nice Treaty because the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights was unclear on urgent ethical and moral issues. Last week the Standing Committee of the Irish Bishops' Conference said there seemed to be a stronger case for the treaty than against it.
In the other two referendums, large majorities were expected to approve the abolition of the death penalty and the establishment of an International Criminal Court.