THE Ad Hoc Commission on Referendum Information has taken out £292,000 worth of newspaper advertising to publicise both sides of the argument in the bail referendum.
The members of the commission are: the Ombudsman, Mr Kevin Murphy, the Clerk of the Dail, Mr Kieran Coughlan and the Clerk of the Seanad, Ms Deirdre Lane.
The commission was set up by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, who also invited the chairman of the Bar Council to nominate lawyers to put the cases for the two sides. Mr Sean Ryan SC, prepared the statement in favour of the amendment and Mr Edward Comyn SC, the statement against.
In consultation with the lawyers, the commission decided to limit the statements to about 650 words each, to be published in Irish and English.
During the divorce referendum campaign, booklets giving both sides of the argument were distributed to all households, but a spokesman explained there was not enough time on this occasion to prepare a booklet to be distributed a week before polling day.
Instead, it was decided to take out bilingual advertisements in today's daily newspapers, morning and evening; in all of this week's local papers; in the Irish language weekly Foinse (in Irish only); and in the Sunday Independent, Sunday Tribune, Sunday Business Post and Sunday World.
A spokesman for the Right to Bail Campaign expressed concern that the advertising campaign would reach only newspaper readers. "There are, unfortunately, a significant number of people who don't read newspapers," he said.
Earlier this month the commission placed advertisements in all daily and evening newspapers and on the Internet, inviting written submissions. A total of 28 submissions was received, 18 for the amendment and 10 against, and all of these were forwarded to the senior counsel preparing the two statements, along with "relevant speeches, statements and articles which appeared in the public domain".
Total costs incurred by the AdHoc Commission were £335,500, broken down as follows: preliminary advertising and publicity, £41,000; publication of statements, £292,000; secretariat staff costs, £2,000; incidental expenses, £500. These costs will be paid by the Department of Justice and do not include the fees of senior counsel, which will also be paid by the State.
The director of Democratic Left's campaign for a Yes vote, Mr Eamon Gilmore, warned in a statement last night that the proposal could be defeated through a combination of apathy and complacency. Reports from constituencies indicated there was likely to be a low turn out and that many people lacked basic information.
"The McKenna judgment during the divorce referendum has prevented the Government from providing information about the amendment. Many people, including party activists, are assuming that the referendum will be passed because of serious public concern over crime. However, the referendum will only be passed if a majority of voters actually go out and vote Yes on November 28th", Mr Gilmore said.