Sinn Féin today claimed comments by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Dick Roche, were a "pathetic attempt to escape" real debate on Nice.
Party spokesman Mr Aengus Ó Snodaigh said the suggestion by Mr Roche that Sinn Féin is ambivalent in its attitude to the introduction of immigration as an issue in the Nice Treaty is without foundation.
Earlier this week the No to Nice Campaign said it would put immigration to "the fore in people’s minds" in the run-up to the October referendum.
Mr Roche said he was surprised that Sinn Féin has failed to publicly distance itself from such remarks.
But Mr Ó Snodaigh said the party had made its position on EU enlargement clear and stated they were not opposed to enlargement, but believed that new members should be joining the EU on a basis of equality and not as second-class citizens as is the case under Nice.
"As we have made clear repeatedly we do not oppose enlargement and we do not believe that the accession of new countries will lead to any large influx of immigrants," he added.