The pro-Nice political parties yesterday expressed clear differences on the future of Europe even as they united to welcome the outcome of the referendum.
The Tánaiste, Ms Harney yesterday restated her reluctance to countenance further European integration - apart from in the economic area - favouring instead a looser arrangement between the member states.
The Labour Party leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn said he was "all in favour" of developments he supported being introduced into Ireland by the EU even if they were supported only by "minority progressive forces in this country".
Ms Harney said she favoured more progress being made on completing the Single European Market free of barriers to trade and competition. However, she indicated that apart from this trade integration, she did not favour more ambitious integrationist proposals currently being discussed at EU level.
"Many of the debates that are going on in Europe that want to take the European Union down an integrationist route are not going to find an easy home in places in Ireland and in other European countries"' she said.
"Perhaps we have got to consolidate what it is we have agreed, implement the remaining aspects of the Single European Act that haven't yet been implemented in terms of the Single European market before we start being too ambitious about other projects."
Mr Quinn said he was "all in favour" of what he termed progressive forces in Europe forcing change in Ireland, even if only supported by a minority here. "I sat around the Council of Social Affairs Ministers in the 1980s as the Irish Minister for Labour and watched in frustration as Mrs Thatcher's Ministers exercised their veto and stopped social progress with respect to the consultation rights of workers and the right of workers to learn about developments within their own companies." He said it was wrong to say the EU could become a superstate.
"No matter what shape it takes and no matter what constitutional legal architecture is put in place the essential building block of the European Union is and will always remain the nation state.
"That's fundamentally different to Australia or any other federal state we know of. The only reason we are deepening and moving forward is to enable the European Union to come to terms with the world's economy."
He said Ireland was now having "a philosophical debate on Ireland's position within the EU which we didn't have when all we could see on the table was large dollops of money from the structural funds. Perhaps we are now having a debate which we should ideally have had 20 years ago."
Ms Harney said the EU should learn from the Irish experience not to take the people for granted, and not "to move too far ahead of the people on the issues of importance within the European Union." She said the Government had taken the people for granted during the last referendum campaign.
"Certainly we need to do a lot more explaining to connect with citizens throughout Europe. Many of my colleagues at Council of Ministers meetings have said to me that if it had gone to a vote in their own countries it would have been difficult as well. "
She urged more transparency, suggesting that Council of Ministers meetings be conducted openly.