Those involved in the No to Nice campaign were sharply criticised by the Minister of State for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr Willie O'Dea.

He said that the worst advertisement for the No vote were its adherents.

"Anthony Coughlan was spectacularly wrong in 1972, but this has not prevented him repeating exactly the same losing arguments every time since. His arguments today are as good as they never were. His behaviour resembles the clock which ceased to tick in 1972. He is the quintessential example of the man who cannot take yes for an answer," he added.

"Justin Barrett, that roving evangelist, contrives to act like a shiver searching the world for a spine to run up. He tries to sound like Superman, but his thought process resembles that of Jack Frost. Look at his main collaborators. Youth Defence is a group hardly noted for its moderation or its ability to tolerate any point of view other than its own. It would be a sad day for this country if the people were to take their lead from these two latter-day examples of King Canute's courtiers - Anthony Coughlan, the Nostradamus of TCD, and Justin Barrett, the man who could never resist taking a public bath in his own prejudices."

Mr O'Dea said the leaders of Ireland's fight for independence wanted the people of Ireland to be able to decide their own future as a sovereign nation.

"Little did they envisage that we would one day have it in our power to decide the future of all of Europe. We must not squander this opportunity by petulance or xenophobia. The case for a Yes vote is clear," he added.

The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said all the indicators which measured economic and social progress attested to the huge strides made since Ireland joined the EU.

"In 1972, Ireland stood at 60 per cent of the EU average in terms of GDP per capita. The equivalent today is 122 per cent," he added. "In 1972, the numbers in employment were just over one million. Today, the equivalent figure is over 1.7 million. In 1972, the total value of foreign debt investment was €16 million. The figure for the year 2000 stood at some €22.5 billion."

Mr McCreevy said he would strongly argue that the Nice Treaty represented a very good outcome for Ireland and for small member-states in general.

"The arguments put forward by the treaty opponents that it strengthens the position of the larger member states, and will lead to a two-tier Union, do not stand up to scrutiny," he added.

The treaty's primary purpose, he added, was to prepare the EU institutions for an enlargement involving an accession of 12 states. This required, in particular, that the provisions relating to council decision-making, and the composition of the European Commission and Parliament, had to be revised, he said.