Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today called on the Taoiseach to set a date for the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty to end the "continuing uncertainty" on the issue.
Mr Kenny is in Brussels for meetings to outline his party's campaign plans for the referendum.
Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny
He will meet European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, European Commissioner for Agriculture, Mariann Fischer Boel and the president of the European People's Party, of which Mr Kenny is vice president.
"I believe that the efforts of the many groups who support the treaty are being seriously hampered by the continuing uncertainty as to the timing of the referendum vote.
"This uncertainty does nothing to alleviate public confusion about this important issue, and it has created a vacuum in which some anti-European groups have put forward misinformation about the implications of the treaty," Mr Kenny said.
He said no one should underestimate the scale of the challenge in securing a positive result and that this was not helped by the failure of the Green Party to get a mandate from its members to support the treaty.
"Most opinion polls indicate that most people do not have enough information about the provisions of the treaty and that many are inclined to vote 'No' or not vote at all as a result. These findings underline the urgent need for a comprehensive and rational public debate on what this treaty means for Ireland and for Europe," Mr Kenny said.
He urged Fine Gael supporters not to use the treaty vote to "punish the Government".
Mr Kenny repeated his call for a referendum aimed at changing the constitution to protect children from sexual predators to be held on the same day as the EU ballot.