Reversing the Nice vote would devalue referendums "not only in Ireland but in every European country", according to a prominent Eurosceptic campaigner, Mr Anthony Coughlan, of the National Platform.
In a speech at the inaugural meeting of the Rathmines No To Nice Campaign last night, he accused the Government of "siding with other EU governments against its own people in an attempt to overthrow a perfectly valid referendum result".
He added that "the issue of whether the Irish people control the government or the government controls the people is fundamental to this whole Nice debate".
"It is the reason why all democratically minded citizens - whether they were Yes-side or No-side voters in 2001 or did not vote at all - should vote on this second occasion to make the Government do the constitutional duty it failed to do last year, and foil the democratic outrage it is currently engaged in.
"A rerun referendum of this kind has never happened in Ireland before.
"When related constitutional referendums were held previously - on abortion, divorce and proportional representation - the referendum proposition was in some way different on the second occasion from the first. Nearly 10 years had also passed between each referendum.
"That is not the case here. The two clauses in the constitutional amendment to ratify Nice will be identical in October to what they were in June 2001.
"The extra clause inserted by the Government to the effect that we must have a referendum if we wish to join an EU defence pact has nothing to do with the Nice Treaty.
"It is meant to give the impression that it has somehow been changed, when it has not been.
He continued: "If the EU were ever to propose such a pact, a referendum would have to be held in Ireland anyway if we wished to join it."