THE No-vote campaigners could be proud of the way they raised the electorate's consciousness with few resources and against huge odds, a Right to Bail Campaign statement said after the referendum result.

They would continue to act as civil rights watchdogs and would campaign for a constitutional amendment to ensure future referendums could only be held after adequate information had been given out, the statement added.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said that people refused bail and on remand needed to be detained separately from convicted prisoners. Mr Michael Farrell, the ICCL co-chairman, said the prison accommodation crisis had to be solved and a separate remand centre needed to be built.

"Above all, the Government should guarantee that they will commit far greater resources to drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation," he said.

Ms Nora Bennis of the National Party said the referendum result was a disaster for the political process, showing the lack of trust held by the voters in the Government.

"It is nothing short of a public outrage that the political parties failed to protect the electorate with sufficient information to enable them to feel comfortable so that they could exercise their right to vote with confidence," she said.

Mr Richard Greene, leader of the Muintir na hEireann party, said the electorate was conned into voting away a constitutionally-protected civil right.

"Our party has called upon the all-party committee reviewing the Constitution to propose that all future referendums be conducted by an independent commission presided over by a High Court judge, to ensure that true democracy prevails, and that fairness to both sides of an argument is assured," he said.

But the chairman of the Victims of Criminal Action Lobby welcomed the result, saying that criminals were still favoured by the justice system to an alarming degree.

Mr Eamonn Gavin said crime victims needed the right to legal representation and compensation.