The referendum on the fiscal treaty should not be used by the public as a vehicle for registering their anger with the government over its policies, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said.
Speaking in Cork, where he went canvassing in the city centre with fellow Cork Fianna Fáil TDs Billy Kelleher and Michael McGrath, Mr Martin said it was important that voters considered the treaty on its own merits and not as a means of protest.
"There is no doubt but that in such a severe economic collapse with its very real impact in terms of cuts in income, unemployment and emigration that people are angry and they will be a significant proportion of those voting No who are voting against government policy,” he said.
"My message is that the treaty is not a referendum on the government - and people should reserve their position on the government until the local elections or the next general election - voting No just because you are angry in itself doesn't advance your position.”
Mr Martin said that he was confident that Fianna Fáil supporters would votes for the treaty in strong numbers as they recognised that it was an important step forward in terms of helping Ireland to emerge from the current economic crisis.
"The treaty offers the best opportunity to access vital funding for the country at affordable rates into 2014 and 2015 and that’s the essential message to enable us to pay for pensions, salaries, provide services and enable us to keep the country going in 2014 and 2015," he said.
"In addition, a Yes vote underpins confidence in the euro currency and that’s extremely important for Ireland as a country that exports a lot of goods and services and confidence in the euro is important to enable us to attract inward investment into the country."
Mr Martin acknowledged that there were a significant number of undecided voters and much would depend on turnout but his impression from the campaign to date was that there were more definite Yes voters than definite No voters.
"I think you could have a reasonable enough turn out - people are worried about where a No vote leads to and the uncertainty of that. My sense is that there are more definite Yes voters than No voters and that the yes side is still shading it but a lot depends on the next few days."
Mr Martin criticised both Taoiseach Enda Kenny for failing to debate with Gerry Adams and Mr Adams for failing to debate with him but he was particularly scathing of Sinn Féin’s position on the treaty and he accused them of cynically exploiting the issue for party gain.
"I think there’s a lot of cynicism in the Sinn Féin position - I don’t think their position was an honest one but I do think they do make a calculation that by going No, they get higher profile and they can put their candidates out there because of the 50/50 rule on balance.
"I’m not into making calculations of that kind. As leader of Fianna Fáil party, we are going to take a principled position on this. The situation is too grave for the country and for Europe to start playing political games or to start looking how a particular political party can go up," he said.
"That is no basis on which to advise to people - the referendum will come and there will be other elections where the context will be different. Speaking personally, I think a strategic approach to the affairs of the country is much better than short term political opportunism."
