The proposed wording of the referendum on the Amsterdam Treaty showed that the Government was engaged in a "crass attempt to bypass the democratic process", according to Mr John Gormley, the Green Party TD.
The party is urging a No vote in the referendum.
"The leaked wording for the upcoming referendum . . . is totally unacceptable," Mr Gormley said in a statement yesterday. The commitment from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, to hold a separate referendum if the Government ever decided to change its policy on neutrality was merely a political promise, Mr Gormley said. "It has no legal standing and certainly doesn't bind future governments," he complained.
While there was much to be welcomed in the treaty, such as provisions on employment and workers' rights, some of the provisions on asylum-seekers were very worrying and "mustn't be allowed to pass", he said. The same was true for the sections on Common Foreign and Security Policy.
"The WEU's Petersberg Tasks have now been brought into the EU with the result that Irish troops will, for the first time, peace-keep for a body other than the United Nations.
"Also Irish troops could be involved in `tasks of combat forces in crisis management, including peacemaking', which virtually provides a carte blanche for any type of military action."
The Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, welcomed the publication of the paper and also the Government commitment to a referendum should any future amendments to the Union affect Irish neutrality. He said the Labour Party would prepare its response to the referendum in due course.
The White Paper paid insufficient attention to unemployment, according to the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed. The chapter of the treaty dealing with it failed even to mention the word unemployed, the INOU said. It would decide later whether to advise on a Yes or a No vote in the referendum
Irish CND had no such hesitation in saying people should vote No and the organisation deplored the Government's "about-turn" in attempting to "forgo future referenda on military neutrality". It called for a "balanced and honest debate on the full implications" of the treaty.