The Green Party has challenged the Government to respond to comments made by a senior EU official that an Irish No vote would 'not be too bad' for enlargement.
Ms Christine Kirschbaum, a member of Enlargement Commissioner Mr Gunter Verheugen's staff, is reported to have made the comments at a conference in Hamburg last week. The conference, it is understood was held to discuss the consequences of EU enlargement.
Ms Kirschbaum was quoted by the Greens as saying "If this treaty is not ratified (by Ireland) … it will not be too bad," She continued to say "the closure of negotiations will apparently be delayed a little - in this case you can trust the member states … Plan B is always in the drawer."
She is then reported to have said "A No vote in Ireland will not prevent enlargement".
The Green Party's spokesperson on Finance, Mr Dan Boyle TD, said Greens would attempt to get the Government's support for a Dáil motion endorsing the full and immediate enlargement of the European Union.
He said failure to do so would prove the Government was not concerned with enlargement, but wanted to bring about the disadvantageous institutional changes he said was the real intent behind the Treaty of Nice.