LABOUR PARTY CAMPAIGN LAUNCH:THE DEBATE on the Lisbon Treaty has "scarcely impacted" on the public and many remain to be convinced of its merits, Labour Party representatives warned at the launch of their referendum campaign yesterday.
They promised a robust campaign that would emphasise the improvements the treaty makes to the EU and its institutions.
"The biggest challenge for us is to explain the treaty and what's in it," said party leader Eamon Gilmore.
"Even at this stage, only a month out from polling day, a lot of people aren't quite clear about the content. And there's been a fair degree of misinformation spread around."
Campaign director Joe Costello said the debate on the treaty had so far amounted to nothing more than a "megaphone war" between the Yes and No sides.
"It has scarcely impacted on the public. The latest opinion poll is encouraging, but clearly many people remain to be convinced. There's a major job of work to be done.
"Nobody, neither the Yes nor the No camp, has actually got the information out and down to the grassroots. It's out there to be won on the doorsteps and that's what we intend to do."
Mr Costello said the party had a budget of €200,000 to run its campaign. The extent of its expenditure, he said, indicated "how seriously we are taking the ratification process and how important we consider a Yes vote for the future of our country".
Mr Gilmore said that under the Lisbon Treaty, the EU would progress in line with Labour's vision of the European project, adding that he was confident its support base would vote in favour.
"It makes [the EU] more democratic but it also advances the idea of a social Europe, one where the interests of people are protected and strengthened, with the inclusion of rights in the Charter of Fundamental Rights but also the inclusion of a social clause and the protocol protecting public services."
The treaty would strengthen democracy in the EU, make it "much more a citizens' Europe" and encourage "more efficient and effective" decision-making, he argued.
"I think it is common sense that if you increase the membership of any body from 15 to 27, you have to make some rules in the way it makes decisions. You can't have a situation where every individual state has a veto on everything."
Labour MEP Proinsias de Rossa admitted there were elements of the treaty that were "not perfect" in the party's view. "The key thing about the treaty is that it is a compromise," he added.
Mr Gilmore said the debate on the treaty should go beyond party politics.
"We made a decision that we would campaign for this treaty because we think it's good for the people of this country.
"We're certainly not going to play party politics with it and I don't think anyone else should do so either.
"Who gets credit or claims credit afterwards is neither here nor there."