THERE WERE appeals to voters yesterday from the Yes and No sides in the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen said that the outcome would determine the State’s future direction, and he was urging people to go out and vote and to think clearly before making a vital decision.
“Support for a Yes vote is strong. However, nothing can be taken for granted and we know that we have to keep working until the close of polling.’’
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said that the referendum provided Irish people with an enormous opportunity to send a positive signal to their European partners.
A Yes vote, he said, would be a massive step, not only towards economic recovery, but also towards Ireland taking a lead role in European affairs.
Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said that the result would not just determine Ireland’s relationship with the rest of Europe, but it would also have a major impact on the State’s capacity to recover from the economic crisis and to get people back to work.
“A No vote would send out a negative message internationally, suggesting that we are, at best, half-hearted about the EU,’’ he added.
On the No side, Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald urged voters to reject the treaty as decisively as they had done last year.
She said it was a bad treaty, negotiated by an incompetent Government and, if passed, would seriously undermine Ireland’s position within the EU.
“A Yes vote will mean the loss of our automatic right to a commissioner, a massive reduction in our voting strength on the Council of Ministers and the handing away of our right to a referendum.’’
Libertas leader Declan Ganley said that the Irish people had to choose between fear and hope.
The referendum, he said, would be a “defining moment’’ for Irish society. He added: “One way or another, the sky will be there on Sunday morning. It will not fall with a Yes, and it certainly will not fall with a No. Millions have been spent telling Irish people to vote in terror and fear for the future. It has been a sick, dishonest campaign.’’
Cóir spokesman Richard Greene urged voters to come out and give an emphatic No to the treaty.
“The big issues in this campaign have been wages, jobs and loss of power,’’ he added.