"Government is ensuring that more information is available during this EU Treaty referendum campaign than in any previous Irish referendum" - Minister for European Affairs, Dick Roche, T.D.
EU Affairs Minister Dick Roche TD today said: "The Government aims to ensure that, before polling day on the Reform Treaty referendum; the people of Ireland will have more factual information available to them on the Treaty than has been made available in any previous Irish referendum”.
On the day of the signing of the Treaty in Lisbon last December, a bilingual explanatory pamphlet outlining the key elements of the Treaty was published and distributed by the Department of Foreign Affairs. A bilingual audio and Braille version of the pamphlet has also been issued.
A 22-page bilingual guide to the Treaty was published last month. Copies are available at present through the lo-call number 1850 211602. Plans are being put in place to deliver a copy of this guide to as many households as possible over the next six weeks.
Copies of the explanatory pamphlet and the 22-page guide are available through the dedicated website www.reformtreaty.ie ."
The Minister continued: "Anybody can ring the lo-call number 24 hours per day and leave a request for copies of the Treaty, for other material or can leave specific queries which will receive individual attention.
A White Paper, which will provide a detailed analysis of the Reform Treaty, will also be published in early April.
A guide to the Treaty has been published by the National Forum on Europe. The Forum itself is holding a widely advertised series of public sessions throughout the country.
A Consolidated Version of the Treaties, outlining what the European Treaties will look like after the Reform Treaty is ratified, has been produced by the Irish Institute of International and European Affairs. A PDF version of this volume, which has been widely acclaimed, can be downloaded free of charge from the website www.reformtreaty.ie . A copy of the Consolidated Version of the Treaties was last month sent to every public library in the country.
A very significant budget has been set aside for the Referendum
Commission which was established last Thursday. The Commission,
which is an independent body, will put its own strategy in place
for public information on the Treaty and to encourage maximum voter
participation in the Referendum itself.
Taken together, all of this information will help the electorate to
be very well informed on the Reform Treaty in the period leading to
the referendum," Minister Roche added.
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Press Office
10/03/08
