Fine Gael's four members of the European Parliament have spent an estimated €80,000 campaigning for a Yes vote in the Nice referendum. This is in addition to approximately €150,000 spent by Fine Gael out of party funds, making a total of €230,000.
The four, Ms Avril Doyle, Ms Mary Banotti, Mr Joe McCartin and Mr John Cushnahan, are entitled to draw on an information fund available to MEPs from all parties which can also be used to campaign in referendums on European issues.
As part of a range of activities by the four MEPs, Ms Doyle hosted a joint Nice meeting in conjunction with the Irish Alliance for Europe and Wexford Chamber of Commerce. She also placed a series of advertisements in provincial newspapers and organised a "Nice Treaty theme" at the Fine Gael stand in this year's National Ploughing Championships.
In addition to speeches, canvassing and press statements, Ms Banotti sponsored and led a group of young Irish people on a visit to Poland to investigate the issues surrounding enlargement.
"We met prominent government speakers, leaders of the opposition, university students, academics, farmers and women's groups. Several Polish people entertained us, affording us the opportunity to speak to them and their families," she said.
Mr Cushnahan, who was also involved in monitoring elections in Pakistan, spoke at several meetings and canvassed in Munster. He also wrote a briefing document which was widely circulated, entitled The Treaty of Nice Explained.
Mr McCartin spoke at seminars and public meetings in counties Mayo, Donegal, Cavan, Roscommon, Galway, Leitrim and Sligo.
At a final news conference in Dublin yesterday, the party leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said Fine Gael had organised 16 "pretty well-attended" public meetings. Pointing out that the party had exercised restraint for the sake of a Yes vote, he said it would have been "all too easy" to take advantage of current government difficulties.
If Fianna Fáil were in opposition it was "most unlikely" that party would have campaigned actively for Nice.
He accused Sinn Féin, the Green Party and the "far right" of spreading misinformation. "As far as we are concerned the 'green agenda' has been delivered to an extraordinary degree in Europe."
Ms Banotti said she was more hopeful of a Yes vote and she partly attributed her gloomy forecast last May to "post-electoral tristesse". She added: "I especially hope that the bullying tone and taken-for-granted attitude which was all too prevalent in the last referendum has been well-buried."