The controversial advertisement to encourage voting in the EU elections, which features a woman baring a nipple, came under fire again last night when concerns were expressed that it may cause confusion between the referendum on citizenship and the European elections.
The film by the European Parliament's audio-visual department includes an image of a suckling baby trying to decide which of its mother's breasts to feed from, in a symbolic representation of voters going to the polls on June 11th.
However, last night RTÉ expressed concerns that the advert, which also contains the flashing text "yes" and "no", could be mistakenly construed as one for the referendum on citizenship, which is being held on the same day.
RTÉ have referred the advert to the Referendum Commission for consideration. It will be viewed by the commission this morning. They will consult with the EU Parliament's office in Dublin, in advance of a press conference at noon.
According to a commission spokesman, the advert has been referred because there were fears that it could be interpreted as "referring to the referendum as opposed to the EU elections".
The advert, which is being shown in other EU countries, is designed to encourage voters to participate in the EU elections.
"We are obviously different in that we are the only country to have a referendum on the same day," the spokesman said. The word "yes" is flashed three times during the advert and the word "no" twice, according to the spokesman.
"You just don't know what people would read into it. We want to avoid confusion at all costs," he said.
The head of the European Parliament's office in Dublin, Mr Jim O'Brien, has confirmed that his original decision not to broadcast the advert was under review after an intervention from the Brussels office of the parliament.