Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

Friday the 13th lived up to its reputation this June. It was an unlucky day for the Irish establishment. Church and State, the business and farming communities were all found wanting in their support for a "Yes" vote on the Lisbon treaty. It was a memorable victory for the "No" side. A high turnout by the electorate and a substantial margin of victory means that the Lisbon treaty is dead.

The reasons for its demise are myriad and will be hotly debated for months to come. The poll of 2,000 voters by the European Commission immediately after Thursday's referendum is revealing in the categories of people who were solidly "No". Young people, women and first-time voters were solidly against the treaty. People who did not understand the treaty and believed it could be renegotiated plumped for a "No" vote too. Up to 40% of those who voted "No" said they did so because they did not understand the treaty. Clearly, a frustrated and disenchanted people, wanting to vote against the treaty and the Government, were only looking for a hook on which to hang their "No" vote.

The travails of the then Taoiseach, Deputy Bertie Ahern, at the Mahon tribunal were the backdrop to the entire campaign. Even after his resignation on 6 May, the tribunal fall-out continued to poison the campaign.

The coalition Government which should have planned and directed the campaign was dysfunctional from the beginning. The Progressive Democrats was non-existent in the campaign while the Green Party was unable to decide a position with Fianna Fáil paralysed through its leadership crisis. Only the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, was the honourable exception.

Three months of the six-month campaign were wasted through inertia. No copy of the treaty or an abbreviated version of it was published. The White Paper promised for January, while excellent, did not appear until April, on the same day the Dáil began to debate the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008. The Referendum Commission was established late, took too much time to get going and was then sadly inadequate to the task and demands of such a complex treaty. The initiative was ceded to the "No" side from the beginning which it never relinquished.

The failure to provide an original text for every citizen while expecting a positive response in a matter as fundamental as changing the Constitution was too much for fair-minded and conscientious citizens. Many potential "Yes" voters went over to the "No" side.

Our national broadcaster scarcely covered itself in glory either.

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