A large number of small Irish businesses have expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of Government information on the Nice Treaty, which has resulted in relatively few firms believing they would benefit from a Yes vote.
Research by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises association (ISME) reveals that just 8 per cent of the 400 firms it surveyed were satisfied with the level of information circulated by the Government ahead of the autumn referendum.
The survey shows a great deal of confusion amongst small firms on the Nice Treaty with ISME warning the Government that it must urgently tackle this issue.
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Dick Roche, who has responsibility for the Nice referendum campaign, wondered when the survey was conducted, because the Government had published an "excellent" White Paper last month which was "objective, clear and readable" and addressed all the issues.
He said there was a "Nice button" on every Government website and information was widely available to business.
In the survey, when asked what impact a Yes vote for Nice would have on their business, 20 per cent of respondents outlined a positive impact, 30 per cent stated it would mean no change, 42 per cent said they didn't know and 7 per cent reported that a Yes vote would be negative.
Fine Gael however expressed alarm at the survey figures. The party's foreign affairs spokesman, Mr Gay Mitchell, said "small business figures are smart operators and reasonably well informed. But if they don't have the basic information to make informed decisions, that rings alarm bells."
It was time, Mr Mitchell said, "for the Government plan to move into a much higher gear".
The formal debate is expected to begin when the Dáil returns next month for four days to deal with the legislation. The Referendum Commission will distribute information on the Nice Treaty to every household in the State in September, and the referendum is thought likely to take place in October.
ISME chief executive Mr Mark Fielding yesterday called on the Government to introduce a special Nice Treaty telephone helpline for small businesses to provide advice on how companies can take advantage of trading opportunities in an enlarged market. Mr Roche said this was "not a bad suggestion" and pointed out that with enlargement businesses would have a huge opportunity with a market increased by 110 million.
Mr Fielding said there were also concerns about competitiveness. "There is no doubt that the accession countries will offer stiff competition in labour intensive, low productivity sectors such as engineering and light manufacturing," he added.