“Vast” numbers of people have rejected the Government’s “sweeping generalisations and comforts” on the implications of the Lisbon Treaty, Sinn Féin said today.
Speaking after the Irish Times/TNS mrbi opinion poll showed the number of people intending to vote No has almost doubled to 35 per cent, Dublin MEP Mary Lou McDonald claimed the prudent thing to do would be to protect Ireland’s social and financial interests by voting No.
While there are economic concerns, there is also a desire among the electorate for Ireland to “consolidate” its status in Europe, she said. She added ratification of the Treaty would undermine Ireland’s position in the European institutions and damage Irish workers’ rights.
Ms McDonald accused the Government of compromising Ireland’s position on tax and neutrality. Sinn Féin is the only political party in the Dáil opposing the treaty.
Leading No campaigner and former Green MEP Patricia McKenna said she was cautious about making projections in light of the poll result as it was taken at the height of farmers’ dispute over the WTO negotiations.
Ms McKenna said: “One of the most interesting aspects was that it showed the main political parties did not have the backing of their own followers.”
But she said she was worried that the poll result would trigger an even more aggressive and dirtier campaign by the Yes side.
Chairman of Irish Ant-War Movement Richard Boyd Barret said the huge swing to the No side was proof that “the bullying and hectoring campaign of the Government and the supporters of the Treaty has backfired on them.”
“The Yes Campaign has consistently tried to suggest the Treaty is just about tweaking the procedures through which the EU organises itself and correctly the public has seen through this.”
Andy Storey of Afri (Action from Ireland) said poll result undermined a commonly held belief that the No vote can only win on a low turnout. “The result translates into 65 per cent turnout with the No side gaining more from more people voting.”
“The notion that the treaty would be defeated by apathy is wrong as it would be defeated by people actually participating,” he added.
Carol Fox of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance said the poll result posed the question as to why we are the only ones voting on the treaty.
“It shows there is a gap between what happens at parliamentary level in Europe and what people on the ground want to see happening.”
The Unite trade union, which has broken with other workers' groups by campaigning against the treaty, said it would intensify its campaign in the coming days.
"The 'No' majority among working class voters indicates that our message is getting across," Unite said. "That message is that the Lisbon Treaty is a bad deal for workers and a bad deal for the economy."
Anti-Lisbon Treaty campaigner Kieran Allen, a member of Siptu's education branch, claimed that the surge in support for the No side shows that the strategy of the Yes campaign had backfired
"I expect that the Yes side will resort to a combination of fear-mongering and concessions in the coming week. We will be told that Ireland will be marginalised; that foreign investment will be scared away; that the No campaign is run by the 'extreme' left or right.”