Former Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton of Fine Gael, has disowned a proposal from a Christian Democrat colleague in the European People's Party for the imposition of direct taxes by the European Union.
Fine Gael is a constituent element of the EPP, whose leader in the Convention on the Future of Europe, Mr Elmar Brok, has proposed giving the European Union the power to impose "a uniform direct tax".
The proposal is contained in Article 162 of the German MEP's draft EU constitution for submission to the Convention.
The anti-Nice campaigner, Mr Anthony Coughlan of the National Platform, said in a statement: "Does Fine Gael, which is part of the EU Christian Democrats, support what is likely to be a central element of the EU Constitution to be embodied in the next EU Treaty in 2004? Do we want an EU that is able to impose direct and indirect taxes on us?"
Mr Bruton told The Irish Times: "I have conveyed my reservations about the publication of this document to Mr Brok, because it does not represent our collective thinking. It represents his own views."
It had not been considered or approved by the EPP group in the Convention. Mr Bruton is an Oireachtas delegate to the Convention, which meets regularly in Brussels.
Mr Bruton, who is also his party's director of elections for the Nice referendum, said: "Fine Gael hasn't considered the EU's right to impose taxes, and our position would depend on what it would be spent on".
He stressed that Mr Brok's proposal was not in the Nice Treaty, saying: "If it was to be proposed it would have to be in a new treaty which would have to be approved separately by the Irish people".
The EU already had a "contracted right" to take a proportion of Ireland's Value Added Tax, he said. He himself had long favoured an EU environmental tax and he challenged Mr Coughlan to say where he stood. "Is he saying that in no circumstances should one consider some form of global or European tax on environmentally-damaging activities?" he asked.
Meanwhile the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, said the party was "putting Ireland first" and would not be using the referendum to score political points against the Government.
"I want there to be absolutely no doubt: the Nice Treaty is bigger than domestic politics. The outcome will be of critical import to the future of this country," he said.
He continued: "With the ratification of the Nice Treaty, there will be true equality in Europe for the first time. Each member - big or small - will each have one commissioner.
"If the number of states reaches 27, necessitating a reduction in commissioners, the implementation of that reduction could be achieved only by unanimous agreement."
He added: "A No vote won't make our noses fall off, but it will remove us from the heart of decision-making in Europe". Voting Yes was the "right and decent" thing.
"To do otherwise could see the second Nice Referendum become an aide-mémoire to the initial destabilisation of our continent," Mr Kenny said in a speech for a Fine Gael meeting in Dublin last night.
Mr Frank Clarke SC, of the Irish Alliance for Europe, has responded to the former attorney general, Mr John Rogers, who had criticised supporters of the treaty for predicting "doomsday" situations.
Mr Clarke said: "Pretending that nothing will change following a second No vote is not a tenable position in the light of upcoming crucial negotiations for Ireland in the area of Common Agriculture Policy reform for instance."
Senator Paschal Mooney (FF) said Mr Rogers's views were "dangerous nonsense typical of someone who has no understanding of how politics works".