Opponents of the Nice Treaty have been accused by the pro-Nice youth organisation, Ireland for Europe, of telling "lies". The group opened its referendum campaign at a hotel in Dublin's Temple Bar yesterday with a leaflet entitled Five Lies You've Been Told About the Nice Treaty.
"The last campaign was one dominated for the most part by lies and misinformation," according to an Ireland for Europe spokesman, Mr Padraic Lyons. He said these were: that Ireland would be flooded with immigrants; Ireland would lose power and influence in an enlarged European Union; a No vote would not damage Irish prosperity; the Nice Treaty would create a European army; and Ireland would lose its European Commissioner.
He said fears of mass immigration when Spain, Greece and Portugal joined were not realised; a No vote would cost Ireland the trust and respect of candidate countries and would be damaging in economic terms; any Irish military activity abroad would need a UN mandate and Dáil approval; and every member-state would have one commmisioner whereas up to now the larger states had two.
Asked about sources of the group's funding, Mr Ciarán Toland said "every cent" had come, either from a table quiz organised last February or through donations from members. "We are a civic society campaign and we don't need a lot of money to fund that," he said.
Mr Lyons said: "We are very keen to emphasise the fact that we are not a group with a vested interest. We don't have a hidden agenda and we certainly aren't allied to any political party." They were "just a group of people who share a common aim".
He continued: "There comes a time when you have got to call a spade a spade." The only response to claims that ratifying Nice would lead to "floods" of immigrants was to say "That's a lie", and this was what Ireland for Europe was doing.
Mr Toland said the overwhelming majority of members were not in any political party. The group would be canvassing on the streets throughout the State and making its case through local newspapers and radio stations.