The first signs of the No campaign celebrating victory have come from the main Dublin count centre in the RDS with Mr Roger Cole of the Peace and Neutrality Alliance saying he is confident 51 per cent of voters have rejected the Nice Treaty.
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He dismissed claims that the low turnout indicated voter confusion and therefore caution in voting.
"We fought a No campaign, a very strong campaign at that and the electorate voted No. It’s as simple as that. We’ve won it this time but on other occassions we’ve had to accept defeat but its nice to win it."
Fianna Fáil TD Mr Eoin Ryan earlier conceded that the Dublin constituencies appear to have rejected the treaty, while Ms Patricia McKenna, Green Party MEP, says she also believes the no vote has won by a narrow margin.
Sinn Féin President Mr Gerry Adams claimed the No vote had won the argument while cautioning against considering early indications accurate.
"We don't yet know if we won the referendum but we certainly won the debate," he said. "There needs to be a renegotiation of the Nice Treaty," he added.
Fine Gael’s director of elections Mr Jim O’Keeffe said he was disappointment at the outcome of the referendum adding the Government had taken the electorate for granted.
He said the Government campaign was "weak and incoherent, relying almost completely on a media campaign and there was virtually no campaign on the ground to highlight the merits of the treaty and the benefits of enlargement."