MARY FITZGERALDgets the views of voters in Tallaght and Dún Laoghaire
'Look at what happened to Iceland - I don't want that to happen here'
LAST YEAR Louise Sheffield and her friend Barbara Keating were firmly in the No camp. The two mothers are in their early 30s. Women and those aged under 35 were two of the demographic groups that voted overwhelmingly against the Lisbon Treaty 16 months ago.
And Tallaght, where the two women cast their ballots yesterday, returned the highest No vote last year, with more than 65 per cent rejecting the treaty.
Yesterday, however, Louise and Barbara ticked the Yes box when they voted at Scoil Aonghusa in Tallaght.
"This might help the economy," said Barbara. "What harm can it do?" Louise agreed. "I didn't know enough about the treaty last year but I feel better informed this time," she said.
"We need it because we need to be part of the plan for economic recovery."
Barbara was critical of the No campaign this year. "I didn't like their bullying tactics and the way they used pictures of babies to influence people."
Lisa Glassett (40), who works for the probation service, also changed from a No to a Yes. "Like everybody else I'm worried about the state of the country, about our economy and jobs. Look at what happened to Iceland - I don't want that to happen here," she says.
Ann Lee (53) had also changed her mind but her husband was still voting No.
"There wasn't enough information last year. I'm hoping a Yes will help our economic situation," she said, adding that she had lost her job in February. "We're part of Europe and we've got to row in with them."
But for every voter in Tallaght who had changed their mind on Lisbon, there were others sticking firmly to their original No.
"Read my lips. My grandchildren are not going to die on foreign soil," thundered septuagenarian Bill Deegan, as he detailed fears over neutrality.
Kay Greaney, a cleaner in her 60s, was concerned about Cóir claims that the minimum wage could be reduced to €1.84.
Bernadette Frazer (43) and her son John (21), who has been unemployed since he graduated, both resented the fact they were being asked to vote again. "No means No," said John. "Our vote should be respected."
In Jobstown, Karen Wallace, (35) said people were more engaged with the issues this time.
"I voted Yes. Now that we are in recession, we have to push ourselves forward, not back."
'We are being railroaded into a Yes vote . . . and it will probably pass'
IT WAS hardly a surprise, given that Dún Laoghaire returned the highest Yes vote in last year's referendum, that Yes voters predominated in the town yesterday. Only one of the 15 voters The Irish Times interviewed at the Convent Road polling station was voting No.
"I voted No last year too," said Karen Byrne (44). "The original text of the treaty is still there. I feel like we are being railroaded into a Yes vote this time and it will probably pass because people are scared."
Bookseller Jackie Tate (51) wasn't so sure. "I voted Yes because I feel we really owe Europe but I'm concerned many people might use today to punish the Government." Her teenage son was voting No. "I think his generation takes Europe for granted in a way. It's a shame."
Alan Farrell, an unemployed man in his 40s, predicted a victory for the Yes side. "The economic situation has changed completely and people are frightened. This treaty is good for the country."
Septuagenarian Brigid Carey voted No last year but changed her mind in recent months. "The abortion issue was a concern for me, and I was worried about European law overriding our Constitution, but there is more information available on the treaty this year."
Fionnuala Maher (65) recalled Ireland before it joined the EU in 1973. "It was a terrible place. I sincerely hope it will be a Yes. If we don't have Europe, we don't have a bloody hope."
Maths lecturer Ciaran Taylor (48) joked that he was tempted to vote No "just to spite Michael O'Leary". He predicted the treaty would be endorsed. "I think there was a cockiness about last year's No vote but since then the country has changed so much."
Architect Roisin Hanley, while admitting she thought the treaty was "quite flawed in some respects", said she voted Yes for the second time. "It's what we've got and we have to make the best of it. We don't want to be left out in the cold. We need to participate fully in Europe."
Cathal McGuire (27), a local artist, was also voting Yes again. "This treaty is a good idea," he said. "It will secure both our place in Europe, and Europe's place internationally. The Yes campaign was far more effective this year so I think it will pass this time."