Opponents of the Nice Treaty might be "whingers" but "at least we're honest whingers", the Green Party told the Dáil. During a series of statements on the EU council meeting at Seville, Mr John Gormley (Green, Dublin South East) said the Seville Declaration was "as brazen a piece of political chicanery as I have ever witnessed from Fianna Fáil".

The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said that the Taoiseach had a "short time to get his house in order. He must inform, not insult. He must lead, not drag. He must persuade, not pillory."

The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, said the declaration was a request from the Government to "trust us" on the issue of neutrality. This was a "risky card to play".

Whether the Taoiseach liked it or not , "the people do not trust this Government and they have good cause for doing so. Broken promises on Partnership for Peace may well come home to roost."

Mr Gormley said the declaration was "fundamentally dishonest. It is contemptuous of ordinary people and it is a gross insult to the intelligence of the electorate." The declaration was "fraudulent and worthless" and if it was a cheque, it would bounce.

Constituents had told him that Ireland should join a European army and ditch neutrality. "That is a valid position. It is an honourable position. It is a position I can respect although I disagree with it. But I cannot respect a Government that seeks to slither its way out of this one."

Mr Kenny said there was "no room for bluster and palaver" in an urgent situation. He called on the Taoiseach to "recognise that many people voted against Nice because of what they saw as growing bureaucracy from Brussels and explain how you will streamline your implementation of European schemes and policies to remove the unnecessary bureaucracy".

He said the Government could not afford to "blow it" again because a second rejection would have serious implications for the EU and Ireland's position in it.

Mr Quinn feared the Government was "sleepwalking" into this referendum campaign. He also feared that the declaration, which "represents a statement of where we are at the present", was "not sufficient to deal with the issues. It is designed to deal with concerns about neutrality" raised during the Nice referendum.

Sinn Féin repeated a call to put neutrality in the Constitution. Its leader in the Dáil, Mr Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan), said: "The declarations are a smokescreen. They do not change Nice."