THE CAMPAIGNS:The Yes camp will have been heartened by three prominent union leaders' remarks, writes Mary Fitzgerald
WITH JUST over three weeks to go before the electorate votes on the Lisbon Treaty, the battlelines between the Yes and No camps have become more pronounced.
After a flurry of campaign launches last week, including Taoiseach Brian Cowen's rolling out of Fianna Fáil's drive to secure a Yes vote, most parties and civil society groups are already out canvassing for their particular side.
But a number of organisations have yet to show their hand. All eyes will be on the trade unions this week, with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) due to decide its position when its executive council meets on Wednesday.
The Yes camp will have been heartened by supportive remarks last week by three of the State's most prominent union leaders - Ictu general secretary David Begg, Impact general secretary Peter McLoone, and Civil, Public and Services Union general secretary Blair Horan. Nevertheless, one of Ictu's largest member unions, Unite, is recommending a No vote.
The Irish Farmers' Association has not formally declared its position, though president Padraig Walshe has warned that if the organisation is unhappy with the progress of the World Trade Organisation talks, its members are likely to vote No.
The Greens are the only political party with no official position. The party was unable to take a position following the failure to secure a two-thirds majority in favour of the treaty at a party convention in January. The Greens' parliamentary party supports the treaty, however, and its members will contribute to the debate in the run-up to the referendum.