The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has demanded concessions from the Government on EU legislation governing the hiring of temporary workers before it will back calls for a Yes vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
Speaking in Dublin Castle yesterday, Blair Horan of Ictu made clear it is demanding concessions from the Government on the issue.
Ireland, the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany have blocked an agreement on the directive, concerned at the speed at which temporary agency employees would qualify for the same rates of pay as permanent workers.
Speaking directly to Mr Ahern, Mr Horan, general secretary of the Civil and Public Service Union, said the unions wanted "our concerns addressed before we can give a final decision on support for the treaty".
However, Brendan Butler of the Irish Business and Employers' Confederation (Ibec) said it was wrong for any quarter to seek concessions from the Government before offering support.
"Don't use support as leverage for any other issue," said Mr Butler, adding that the treaty was "good for business" and that Ibec would be making this case "very strongly" to its members over the coming months.
Meanwhile, the European Union's decision to curb Brazilian meat imports had renewed farmers' confidence in Brussels and encouraged the Irish Farmers' Association to call for a Yes vote, the National Forum on Europe was told.
Séamus O'Brien said farmers had over recent years felt laden down by EU restrictions, rules and penalties that were "excessive" - even if they were designed to protect food safety standards.
However, he said, IFA investigators were given a fair hearing by Brussels after they had travelled to Brazil and produced "irrefutable evidence" that Brazil's safety standards were not up to EU levels.
"Our confidence is renewed in the institutions and we believe that this is what the Lisbon Treaty is about," Mr O'Brien told the forum.
An early decision by the Government on a date for the Lisbon Treaty referendum would be "helpful", forum chairman, Maurice Hayes, has said.
Speaking at the launch of an information booklet on the treaty, Mr Hayes said it had been written "as fairly as we can" - though Sinn Féin quickly, if politely, criticised its objectivity, as did former Green MEP Patricia McKenna.
The decision to hold a series of public information meetings about the treaty's contents around the country was based on his experience from the Patten Commission on Policing in Northern Ireland.
Despite indications of a lack of public involvement, Mr Hayes said: "People will engage in discussion on EU issues if they are given the opportunity to do so and if the debate is geared to both inform them and take their views into account."
Rejecting criticism of the Government's campaign to date, Minister of State for European Affairs, Dick Roche, said a website was already up and running.
