Campaigning is under way in Ireland ahead of the June 12th referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Reform Treaty. Irish business is fully in favour of ratifying it. The Sinn Fein nationalist party is the only party campaigning against. Its leader, Gerry Adams, says the treaty is bad for Ireland, arguing it will mean the government will no longer have to hold a national referendum on issues important to the nation, as it does now. He raised the question in discussions: "Why on earth should any government or any political party campaign to remove this right? It baffles me." The latest opinion polls show only a narrow gap in favour of a Yes vote. Yet only five percent of voters say they properly understand the issues. Ireland is the only EU Member State holding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, as required by its own constitution.
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