ENDA KENNY HAS criticised Sinn Féin for seeking to take legal action against the State for not acting in accordance with established law in its information campaign about the upcoming Fiscal Compact treaty referendum.
Answering a question from Sinn Féin’s Caoimhin ó Caoláin in the Dáil today, the Taoiseach said he found it “incongruous” that the party wants to take action “in regard to the State actually giving people information about what is in this treaty and what it means”.
“The Government wants the citizens of our State to have every available information given to them in understandable form so they are properly and fully aware of the decision they must make on 31 May,” he said during Leaders’ Questions, adding that it will be the most important decision to be made by the Irish people in a “very long time”.
Kenny noted that the Government’s information drop is separate to the ruling parties “strong Yes” campaigns.
He said that the Government will send the exact wording of the treaty in both the Irish and English languages together with a “merely factual” explanation of what the treaty is about.
As distinct from that, the parties of Government will run their own party campaigns which will promote a very strong Yes campaign.
“We make no apology for doing that,” he added.
Sinn Féin has sought legal advice about whether the government’s website on the Fiscal Compact treaty is legal. It claims that the government could be using public funds to advocate for a Yes vote.
Dismissing that allegation, Kenny said the “explanatory memorandum” to be sent to each house is “entirely in keeping with the McKenna judgement” which dealt with referendum campaigning.
The Government has also given €2.2 million in funding to the Referendum Commission to allow it to carry out its independent work of explaining the treaty and the 31 May vote.
ó Caoláin argued that the Government was utilising an argument of fear by disseminating a “bogus threat” that Ireland will have no access to funding to ensure a Yes vote.
Hitting back at Sinn Féin, Kenny revealed that the party’s representative Deputy McLoughlin failed to turn up to an Oireachtas Committee meeting about the referendum last week.
He also told ó Caoláin to ask his leader Gerry Adams “how he would purport to fund services and pay people” if the party’s proposition went through.
“You [Sinn Féin] have never supported anything in the House here,” concluded Kenny. “Pay for nothing, vote against everything on the basis of swimming with the tide in an attempt to be popular on all occasion. The Irish are much smarter than that.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say