Minister of State for European Affairs Mr Roche has promised to leave no stone unturned in the campaign to secure a Yes vote in the Nice Treaty Referendum.
As the Government steps up its campaign after the summer break, Mr Roche warned that if Ireland rejects Nice for a second time, the country will lose money, influence and power.
Mr Roche made his comments in an address to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, where he said a Yes vote on Nice was the only way to ensure the success of the European project and Ireland’s participation in it.
He accused anti-Nice campaigners of "despicable scaremongering" and of being afraid to focus on the real issues, preferring to raise "false fears" about a loss of neutrality and an influx of migrant workers.
Mr Roche said the treaty was about making the necessary practical arrangements to prepare the EU for the greatest enlargement in its history.
In June last year, Mr Roche said the EU Commission had no option but to accept that the Irish had spoken on the Nice Treaty. This year he is urging voters to speak again, in favour of the treaty.
Yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, the first after the summer recess, was dominated by talks on the Nice Treaty, with the Taoiseach urging ministers to start campaigning in their constituencies. The Bill on the referendum is to be put before the Dáil next week.
Sinn Féin is to host a public conference on the treaty in the Writers Museum, Parnell Square, Dublin, tomorrow.