LEGISLATION implementing the bail referendum amendment should be passed by the Dail by the end of March, the Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, said.

Speaking after the decisive victory for her constitutional amendment, she said: "I will now set about drafting legislation to tilt the balance back in favour of the victim in our society."

The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, said he was very pleased that "a very important measure" had been carried by the people. It was "an endorsement also of the Minister for Justice's work in pioneering this particular change in the Constitution".

Although the turnout, at 29.21 per cent, was the second-lowest of any referendum since the founding of the State, the margin of victory, at 384,772 votes, was one of the highest. The Government said in a statement: "This important decision by the people will ensure that the balance in our criminal law is tilted more in favour of the victims of crime."

The Right To Bail Campaign will now press for changes in the Constitution to ensure that its civil rights provisions cannot be faltered unless "adequate information is given" and a majority of those entitled to vote actually approves an amendment.

The RTBC said that it had run "an honest campaign, motivated by a desire that the general public be informed of the dangers of changes in the right to bail".

All parties in the Dail, except the Greens, welcomed the result, but disappointment was expressed at the turnout.

The Green MEP, Ms Patricia McKenna, warned the Government to "take no solace" in the result. "A 25 per cent vote for the No side is a high achievement, considering the lack of any real debate", she said.

Ms McKenna claimed that the Government had decided to "starve the electorate of information" and said that RTE had shown "a contempt for democracy" in its allocation of referendum broadcasts.

Fianna Fail's environment spokesman, Mr Noel Dempsey, said that, in his personal view, consideration should be given to penalising people who did not exercise their franchise. He has drafted a Private Member's Bill to set up an independent referendum commission charged with informing the public of the issues in any referendum.

The Democratic Left leader and Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, said that the outcome was a "decisive endorsement" of the Government's proposals. All parties would have to look at ways of improving the information flow in referendums in order to increase the turnout, he said.

Fianna Fail's justice spokesman, Mr John O'Donoghue, said that his party had persisted with the referendum proposal despite initial resistance from the Rainbow Coalition. "Today's vote is a vindication for a vigorous and vigilant opposition."

The PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, said that the public had "sent out a strong message to criminals that they can no longer take advantage of our lax laws".