Turnout crucial for Yes vote - McCreevy

EU Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services Charlie McCreevy has called for the 'Yes' side in the Lisbon Treaty debate to ensure a sufficient turnout of its supporters on polling day.

Commenting in Dublin this afternoon, Mr McCreevy said he believed the referendum could be approved if the Yes side ensured "a certain level of turnout".

Charlie McCreevy

However Mr McCreevy stopped short of saying he was confident of victory, remarking "that is a different thing altogether".

Speaking to journalists before he addressed an Engineers Ireland seminar in Ballsbridge, Mr McCreevy said in his time as a politician there was not a European referendum approached with the same zeal.

"The only other one was the EU referendum campaign in 1972."

Since the experience of the defeat of the Nice One referendum, people within the Yes campaign had mounted a huge and vigorous campaign, but he warned that without the turnout of supporters, the outcome was not certain.

The Commissioner said he had no hesitation in saying "voting yes is in the best interests of Ireland", and he added he would "appeal to appeal to people to come out and vote yes."