Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

Maybe they were panicking too early but people from the "No" campaign went after the Referendum Commission because of its clarification on issues such as abortion, neutrality and the free trade agreement. As soon as it did so, people questioned its right to do so. I do not want to be in that position now.

One of the best programmes on the treaty was the "Prime Time" programme of two weeks ago. It analysed the treaty and the arguments for and against and made an objective appraisal of the treaty's relevance to each issue. It covered taxation and abortion. Then it had a debate between two people for and two people against. For the person listening or watching, the other programmes gave five minutes to the "Yes" side and five minutes to the "No" side, with one side saying it was black, the other saying it was white. In that case one can argue that it depends on the prowess and communication ability of the proponents and antagonists but the person listening was more puzzled afterwards. That is why we are engaging in a research project on the campaign and on why people were uncomfortable with the treaty and voted "No" and "Yes". It will also consider the underlying attitudes to the EU.

I was taken by Deputy Ó Snodaigh's remarks. He almost criticised the Taoiseach for saying that the overwhelming majority of Irish people are for the Union, describing this as "weasel words". I heard Mary Lou McDonald on television, at pains to point out that Sinn Féin was pro-Union, in line with the majority of the Irish people. The gurus behind the Sinn Féin operation presented Mary Lou McDonald as the MEP with a particular message targeted and designed to be attractive to the middle ground watching the "Six One News". When the veneer is taken away, Deputy Ó Snodaigh shows a deep-seated hostility to the European project, as evidenced by the tone and tenor of his remarks this morning. There are lessons to be learned and we are open to learning them.

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